Along The Way
by Gojirob
Summary: The crew of the USS Voyager meets the Space Family Robinson. The secrets of two crews come to light, including a family tragedy from the past and another in progress. Set after the end of LIS-TV, and at the tail-end of Voyager S3.
1. Prologue Adopted Homes

**Along the Way**  
by Rob Morris

"Sharing Horizons That Are New To Us -- Watching The Signs Along The Way"  
The Carpenters, 'We've Only Just Begun'

* * *

**Prologue - Adopted Homes**

ANOTHER UNIVERSE, CIRCA 1986

THE PLANET LATER TO BE KNOWN AS ALPHA CENTAURI FOUR

The two were away. The last two. The only two. He wished two siblings could have been sent, so to spread their genes further, even allowing for dilution. But those two were all that were left, and surely they would turn to each other. The great beast had not noticed them.

*How stupid*, thought the lead scientist. *How much hubris did we all possess, to try and open a gateway to a dying universe?* What had they hoped to do? The creature had been driven back to the poor cosmos it called home. But the cost had been their entire civilization, and all but two of its children. With his dying breaths, he deleted any and all images of the three-skulled monstrosity with the chromatic scales and wings. He cared not a whit for what the people in the other cosmos called it, because unless someone extraordinary arose to stop it, that universe was not just dying, it was dead.

"The children..."

* * *

SAME UNIVERSE, EARTH, 1987

NASA TECHNOLOGY TESTING CENTER, FLORIDA

Doctor Maureen Robinson stared again at a picture of a woman she had trained to become an astronaut. A woman who had also become a dear friend. Her name had been Christa McAuliffe.

In her mind's eye, she again saw Space Shuttle Challenger going up, and up--and  
then turning back abruptly. At least she and John knew that it wasn't the O-Rings. They'd checked all that. No, it was a cosmic level event of some kind that spiked background radiation all over that portion of the galaxy. But in the eyes of most, NASA had failed to get a Shuttle up, and seven people died a perhaps horrible death as a result. Most were content to make crude jokes, or speak of how NASA scientists 'Broke Faith' with the American people. She quietly had sworn to break the jaw of the next person who used that particular phrase on her. Raised as they were, she and John couldn't break faith if they tried.

When John failed to return with Judy on time, she picked up a Playbill, which celebrated Broadway's newest Annie, 7-year old Judith Robinson. The Big Stage was a wonderful place, and her little girl was a star in it. But Maureen knew that the protection she was given would eventually slip, and the drugs and alcohol and casual attitudes about everything would strongly tempt her little girl. But she sang so well, and was so happy doing it, that the couple nearly forgot the sting that accompanied her birth. The proud, brilliant, and deeply religious Robinsons would never have another child. Their work around radiation had assured that, despite massive precautions.

But life has its wonders, especially for those who sought to embrace the cosmos. Because certain parts of the cosmos needed more embracing than others. John burst in, a delighted Judy in tow.

"Maureen--get packed! We have a confirmed touchdown of a non-native technology, somewhere near Stallion's Gate, New Mexico. It's under Admiral Calavicci's jurisdiction, so we won't be bothered by the usual crew. Al threatened to shoot Steele between the legs, if he sees so much as one cigarette on the grounds. This--may be it. Heat sigs say life signs!"

Judy was jumping for joy, partly because this side of her life was usually so dull and restrictive on the surface.

"It's a UFO with aliens!!!"

* * *

STALLION'S GATE, NEW MEXICO

With hellos said to the top-secret crew and tweaking performed on a nascent supercomputer that Judy suggested naming after a comic strip, The Robinsons proceeded to the crash site. With rad levels nearly nil, they approached it gingerly. John and Maureen brought Judy along for two reasons. One was that they spent so little time together, of late. The other was the girl's inheritance of her parents' brilliant scientific minds. She had never needed a tutor, whizzing past grades right up to Junior High.

"Wow, Daddy--it's really saucer-shaped. They must really be advanced, cause saucer-shapes only work in old movies."

John smiled at the analogy.

"That's very astute, honey."

"Thanks. The lady who plays Audrey in 'Little Shop Of Horrors' showed me all them, last Halloween. That weird Mister Allen was there,  
too. He's always so nervous."

"Uhhh---yeah."

Maureen deciphered what appeared to be a landing emergency jettison.

"Here goes---nothing!"

The pod/saucer opened. And a little visitor did indeed come out. But not a little green man. Instead, it was a small human child, a brunette girl with longish hair of 3 or perhaps 4 years. She had been crying, and she was holding a small bundle, a human male infant. It was holding her, and she was holding it, each for dear life.

"Clelhdyhhjuwskh779q900-?"

Her speech was just coherent enough to show that her seeming gibberish was in fact another language--from another world, as the tech also attested. Gently, Maureen walked up, and squatted beside the frightened girl.

"You're very pretty. But you must be scared. Is that your baby brother? He looks very nice. Can I hold him, to see if he's alright?"

The girl almost seemed to acquiesce, but then pulled herself and the baby boy back. John tried now.

"We really don't want to hurt either of you. We want to help you. Babies need more help than big girls like you do."

Tone seemed to be accomplishing what language could not. But if they started to gain her trust, it was not deep enough to make her relinquish her grip on her little companion. She had been told, before the three-head killed everyone, that she was to take care of the baby always. In a way, she always would.

Then, Judy remembered a cast trip to a children's hospital. Some of the girls had been older than her, but all girls and boys had been enthralled by what she was able to do with her voice. Actually sitting her chair by the younger child, she nodded to her parents as she began.

"Maybe Far Away--And Maybe Real Nearby--She May Be Fetching Him Coffee--He May Be Straightening His Tie;"

The space-child began to cry, and so did the baby. John came to a startling conclusion.

"Judy--that's a sad song, because Annie's parents were gone, and we know it. So do they--understand?"

Judy understood, and changed to a far more upbeat--and well-known--song.

The one that all Annies knew by heart.

"The Sun'll Come Out--Tomorrow--Bet Your Bottom Dollar That Tomorrow-  
-There'll Be Sun; Just Thinking About Tomorrow; Clears Away The Cobwebs And The Sorrow--Till There's None--"

The littler girl then shocked them all.

"Tomorrow--Tomorrow--I Love You, Tomorrow, You're Always A Day Away."

The baby was still crying, but this time the girl handed him over to a stunned Maureen.

"Mommy--is he going to be all right?"

The infant male was ill, but recovered quickly, to the delight of his fierce protector, who now no longer remembered not being a part of the family that found and now loved them. A simple defense mechanism against ultimate tragedy.

"Mommy, does the new baby have a name, yet?"

Thorough and fervent in her desire to forget, the girl now 'remembered' being told of her mother's pregnancy. Judy was happy to be an older sister, and was also asked to keep her silence. Maureen answered the cosmic foundling's question.

"Well, Penny--we thought we'd name him William."

That night, John and Maureen looked over the recovered pod.

"John--I'd swear this technology, however advanced it may seem, was developed by people not very different from ourselves. Humans, even."

"You're right, darling. It's like skipping to the end of a science history, only to find there are lots of extra pages to be read. You know what this means, don't you?"

"It means--that those yahoos in Congress can cut our R+D budget down to the nub. Because now--we can produce the first colonial spaceship in the history of our civilization."

Maureen then turned deadly somber.

"John--we all love those two, and we are all they know, here. Will we be permitted to keep them?"

Doctor John Robinson nodded.

"Thanks to the efforts of a certain MIT classmate of mine named Beckett, Penny and Will Robinson are already being registered as our birth-children, retroactively. I am going to show those two all my love--and how to fish, when they're old enough."

Not only did the two new Robinsons stay with the family they thought certain was always theirs, but they showed the same intelligence as the others, if not greater.

By hook or by crook, the Jupiter 2 was built over the next nine years. Its goal was to colonize the planets surrounding Earth's closest neighbor--Alpha Centauri. The space-children Robinson were headed for home. Or were they?

* * *

MAIN UNIVERSE, DELTA QUADRANT

Captain Janeway stared at the rift.

"Tom, are you certain that space corresponds to another Delta Quadrant? If it is another universe, those stars could be from any section of our galaxy."

Paris nodded.

"All taken into account, Ma'am. I ran about seventeen different checks, and everything says that's someone else's DQ."

Janeway was both pleased with Tom's thoroughness and intrigued by another notion.

"Alright then. Harry--scan for another Voyager. It's been a while since we said hello to ourselves."

The smile on her face was becoming rare, so all on The Bridge were grateful to see it. Tom saw the sign she wanted, but not how she wanted it.

"Okay--I think we have another voyager, but small-v. That isn't an us. What--is it?"

Janeway turned to Tactical.

"Tuvok, can you get a better reading?"

"I believe so, Captain. Mister Paris is correct; This ship is no alternate of ours. Nor is it any Starfleet or other known technology. It is fully comprehensible, but oddly configured. What you, Mister Paris, would call a retro-fit. A technology much higher than the base that is used to construct from it."

Janeway saw the visitor in the screen-amplified distance. The explorer in her smiled broadly, and she realized that was becoming too rare on her part.

"Move to meet them, full impulse."

Chakotay joined her at the screen, and hated the thought that smile must needs vanish so often.

"You, Captain--are looking forward to this."

She nodded.

"And why not? Chakotay, let's face it. It's not every day you run into an actual flying saucer!"

* * *

HOURS EARLIER, THE OTHER UNIVERSE, JUPITER 2, RELATIVE TIME 2002

With a huff, the reluctant stowaway pulled the hydride-batteries out of the nav-computer's balancer mechanism.

"Thooose blasted computers have never gotten us back to dear, sweet Urth! Besides, how am I to abide these insipid power restrictions and properly dry my hair? The idea--telling ME I had used up my allotment. And William and Penny barely said a word in my defense. Hmmph--I fear those dear sweet children are becoming spoiled brats."

He looked at deactivated Robot B-9.

"And its allll yuir fault--Booby!"

The crew of the Jupiter 2 was about to meet the crew of The USS Voyager- -largely thanks to the lack of efforts of Doctor Zachary Smith.


	2. Chapter One Building Up

**Chapter One - Building Up**

ANOTHER UNIVERSE, EARTH, 1992

The USAF's very best now stood before Doctor John Robinson.

"Major West. I'm glad you could join us. This is my wife, Maureen, who is Console Officer on this project. If you want the board arranged a certain way, or if you want any particular set of functions to follow after another, she's the genius you speak to."

Don West nodded.

"Permission to speak frankly, Doctor?"

"Granted--permanently."

"Ok--why was I brought here, exactly?"

Maureen took this one.

"Major--it was two things. One has to be that, in the Gulf War, you shot down that Scud Missile, saving the lives of every US Serviceman and woman at the Saudi barracks. Four Hundred lives saved is an impressive feat against a specialized hard target designed to whiz past our ABM system."

John continued.

"Then, during the Iraqi pullout, you alone saw the trick The Republican Guard was pulling."

West shrugged.

"It was just a variation on the old 'walk backwards and people will think you're leaving' trick. Ten columns moved forward--three in reverse. You do know that I was almost court-martialed for beginning that attack?"

John glanced at his file.

"Yes, I know. All charges were dropped. But certain people have made it clear to you that your career would never advance much further. Don--I can change that for you. Make it so your career takes you straight--to the stars."

West looked skeptical.

"I grew up on the East Coast, Doctors. But for this--consider me from Missouri."

So show him they did. And the man once called The MIG-scrapper was awed.

"But--physics--I minored--you can't build a working flying saucer using current---"

He stopped.

"Reverse-Engineering. Which crash was it?"

Maureen said the obvious.

"Classification?"

"Hey, they did let me fly a B1--and I am here."

She nodded.

"The one at Stallion's Gate. And yes, Admiral Calavicci did recommend you to us, as well."

Don West shrugged.

"But I punched him out."

John smiled.

"He said it was a damned good punch."

Don looked over.

"Okay, I'm in. But first order of business is security. Hey, you kids--get away from that, and I don't care if your last names are Schwarzkopf and Powell!"

A boy of about 5 years looked up.

"It's not. It's Robinson."

"Yeah, well, your Mom and Dad, they have a lot of work to do. You shouldn't be playing with that simulator."

Will again looked up.

"But I invented it!"

Don almost laughed.

"You? You invented 'Desert Sands'? Then how, in Sim 47, do you recover from flying over Baghdad without support?"

The little boy thought hard.

"Well, at that point, you're probably a goner. But, if you make for The Iranian border, there's a 60-40 chance that the Iranians will shoot at the Iraquis, rather than you."

Don's jaw dropped. Because that survival technique was a so-called 'Easter Egg' that only the very best found, after tens of tries.

"Sorry, pal. I guess I spoke out of turn."

"That's all right, Major. Doctor Beckett felt the same way, when I helped with...."

Maureen shouted out, just as though Will was about to use a curse word.

"Will---classification Zeta Zeta!"

"Sorry, Mommy. I won't do it again."

The next oldest Robinson child walked up. She was 8-year old Penny. By this time, neither she nor Will had any but the faintest memories of their true origins.

"Mommy--the supplies ran out again, and we all starved. Then, a nova went off ahead of schedule. We escaped everything but the EM pulse. Then, Will caught pneumonia, Judy had appendicitis, and Daddy got brain damage from carbon monoxide build-up. I've had a rotten day."

Maureen held the daughter of her heart, and explained things to Don.

"You see, Major, Penny here runs the scenarios--sometimes on paper--of what could happen to us out there. Then, John and I sort through it all. We really rely on our entire family."

Don nodded.

"I can see that."

As The Doctors comforted Penny, Don wondered about a young soul that calculated disasters. He also saw how concerned the little brother seemed for her.

Don West was a man who appreciated fine-looking cars. So it was that when he saw a clear-framed transport that looked like a cross between a Beetle and a Humvee, he was in love. He gestured at the mechanic.

"Hey, Mac--that's some chariot you got there."

When 13-year old Judy turned around, he was startled. Jailbait for now, to be certain. But given time--both she and the vehicle could definitely go places.

"Chariot? I think I like that."

* * *

MAIN UNIVERSE, USS VOYAGER, DELTA QUADRANT, 2374

Captain Janeway frowned at Tuvok. She wasn't truly angry, but the anticipation of meeting these interdimensional refugees with the odd-shaped ship was making her anxious.

"What do you mean, we're out of hailing range? This is standard for almost all space faring races, isn't it?"

Harry Kim took point, when Tuvok's unspoken but obvious desire never to fail Janeway kept him silent longer than usual.

"We can send to them, Captain--but I kind of doubt they can hear or send to us. Their comm equipment is little better than a powerful radio transmitter, according to sensors."

Tom Paris threw in a quick two cents.

"Then I'll bet they reverse-engineered that puppy. But for some reason, they had to go with their own tech on certain things they just couldn't figure out. Tuvok called it right, Ma'am. It's a definite retrofit."

Taking a break from her latest search for any remaining booby-traps left by the late Seska, Be'lanna Torres emerged onto the Bridge. She nodded at the flying saucer on screen.

"Well, well. I see someone finally let you design a ship, Paris."

Tom chose not to let this one go.

"Yeah. We thought about adding a battering ram to it, but I thought that might infringe on your copyright."

She got in his face.

"When have I EVER come on like a battering---"

Her finger in the air, she saw Paris smiling, Kim recoiling, and Janeway on the verge of telling them to belay that.

".....Never mind."

How, she wondered, did a man who was only half as handsome as he thought he was always manage to push her buttons?

Janeway moved into the silence.

"Be'lanna--have you scanned their engines?"

She nodded, grateful to forget Paris's smirk for the moment.

"Yes, Captain. The only way I can describe them is to agree with the retrofit theory. It's like someone in Earth's 20th Century found Voyager and figured out some of it secrets--but definitely not all. The ship is what they once called solid state. Much heavier than it needs to be. It actually depends on rockets for much of its locomotion. For all that, a sturdy little ship. Designed tough, with a lot of redundancies. Kind of like Klingons. No offense."

Janeway knew far better than to think of Torres as any kind of Klingon nationalist.

"None taken. Well, I guess, then, that we keep moving into hailing range, till we reach them. In the meantime, I wish to speak with Mister Chakotay."

Leaving The Bridge in hands she knew were capable, Janeway found the lift, then Neelix's galley. There, she found Chakotay. He was not brooding--on the surface. But she also knew well the man whose swallowed pride made their journey possible, and who always had her admiration, if not her ear.

"A penny for your thoughts, Commander?"

Chakotay shook his head.

"Captain, right now, my thoughts are not worth a wooden nickel. The thought that Seska was hiding in our holo-matrix does not sit very well with me."

Janeway corrected him.

"The image of Seska was hiding in one small program, and was waiting for Tuvok. That wasn't her, Chakotay."

He shook his head.

"I'm not buying that. I heard that audio. I was her. Maybe even her ghost. Not very scientific, I know. But I also know the voice----"

He stopped, feeling a bit ill.

"The voice of my rapist."

He was silent, and then suddenly said some very odd words before leaving.

"True Names. True names contain power. To stop her, once and for all...."

When she was alone, The Captain berated herself.

"I have such a wonderful way, with words of comfort."

She walked over to the replicator, and decided to spend a few ration points.

"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot."

She drank the steaming beverage, and then looked at the cup.

"Why did I order this?"

JUPITER 2, THAT SAME MOMENT

Don West was a man enraged.

"Deny it, Smith! Go on and deny that you removed the battery-pack from the navigational balancer, then used it for your hair dryer!"

Zachary Smith was a man clueless.

"I deny nothing, Major! Were it not for the petty restrictions placed upon my power consumption, this should never have become necessary. Besides, I replaced those batteries, ere they lost too much power."

John Robinson was a man tired of keeping Don's hands off Smith's throat.

"Doctor Smith--we were trying to avoid the rift we just passed through. In the brief time those batteries were gone, our course altered towards the rift. Worse, you affected these batteries long-term ability to hold a charge, by underutilizing them in so small and petty a device."

Again, spake Doctor Clueless.

"Petty indeed, sir! My dandruff problem accelerates to unheard of levels, if my hair is not properly dried. What manner of ambassador would I make in such a condition?"

Maureen Robinson was simply tired of it all, and much of all included this very selfish individual.

"Well, Doctor Smith, the answer to that is simple. After that last incident with the living clouds we met--you were expressly forbidden to meet with any aliens until all the rest of us have. So in short, your hair can wait--and wait. If mine and my daughters' can, so can yours."

Zachary Smith grew frightened, and turned to one of his most reliable allies, who was attempting to coax the nav-balancer back to full health--and failing.

"William--my dear, dear boy--please tell them all how unreasonable they are being."

Will Robinson at one time liked and respected the older man. That time, however, was quickly passing.

"Doctor Smith--I thought I told you--we need every ship's system operating at its very best efficiency, if we're ever gonna reach Alpha Centauri or Earth. Every one of us has to abide by those power restrictions. Me and Penny can only use the sterilizer for finishing the dishes and recycling the water when they're done. It means more work--but then, that's something you wouldn't know about, would you?"

Despite his feelings about Smith, if John had heard his son be any less polite, he would have moved to correct him, and perhaps even ask him to apologize. As it stood, Doctor Smith was livid.

"HOW daaaarree you speak to your betters in such a tone?"

Will closed the panel, indicating that he had done all he could.

"You may be my Elder, Doctor Smith. But I don't think anymore that you're my better. You lost that a while ago."

He turned to his father.

"Dad, may I join Penny downstairs? She's stuck doing the chores herself."

John nodded yes, glad that the two siblings had, in the name of peace, stopped arguing altogether after the blowout at Penny's 18th Birthday Party.

He recalled that he had never gotten along that well with his own brothers, even when they were all grown men.

"Sure thing, champ. You've done all you can here, for now."

Ignoring Smith's glare, the young man went to join his sister in the work they now had completely assumed, the task of keeping the confined quarters of the small ship livable.

"Ma-jor! That boy is picking up your sorry attitude! Mark my words...."

Maureen cut him off.

"No, you mark ours. Either you do like Will suggested, and stay away from ship's systems, or we will stick you in the cryo-tubes for the remainder of our journey. Maybe even several cryo-tubes."

"Don't be absurd, Madam. How the devil could you put me in more than one cryo..."

An image entered the quarrelsome man's little mind.

"Oh...dear."

John finished this portion of their conversation.

"Robot--take Doctor Smith to his quarters, seal those quarters, and guard those quarters---do not let him out for any reason. Understood?"

B-9 stated his compliance.

"Yes, Doctor Robinson. Come along peacefully, Doctor Smith. Do not force me to use my nightstick."

Smith sneered at his longtime nemesis.

"You Keystone Cop of a booby!"

As promised, Robot withdrew a small stick, and held it above Smith.

"Now get, you!"

"I will not....oowwww!!"

The Robot had lightly tapped him with the stick.

"I said to move along."

"Oh...the pain!"

Downstairs, Will handed his sister the product of a brother's love.

"This is it. Every last one of Judy's Playgirls, on CD. I had to compress some of it. But some files are more easily accessed, just like you wanted. She never caught on."

She smiled.

"Thanks. Tell me, how did you select which files to make easier to bring up?"

He gulped.

"I...used a criteria that I thought you might use."

Again, she was grateful for a brother that would go this far for her comfort.

"Thanks again, Will. It must have been a bit uncomfortable for you."

"Yeah, I was uncomfortable. Not to mention envious. But I have Don's Playboys, and now you have what you need. Hurray for stuff you never discuss."

This was indeed a tender subject, but over time they would grow more comfortable with it.

"Listen, Will. When I....start in at night, and I know you can hear me, does it bother you?"

Actually, the fact that he could he hear his sister at night using her body and imagination was driving him out of his mind, and made Will wonder if he was some kind of pervert. But he did love her, so he sort-of lied.

"Nah. When you...start in, I usually find something else to do with myself."

And the young woman wondered about herself, for she sometimes waited for the noises to come from his room, as well. But what were they to do?

Above deck, contact was made.

"This is Doctor John Robinson of The Earth Spaceship Jupiter 2. Will you please identify yourselves?"

They had spotted the unknown ship, and the three leaders each shot off a quick prayer that it was friendly. Don looked out.

"I'll bet dollars to donuts that those nacelles are movable."

Finally, came a response.

"Well, Doctor, you are an awfully long way from home. This is Captain Kathryn Janeway, of The Federation Starship USS Voyager. With your permission, we'd like to bring your ship aboard ours."

John surprised his wife and friend.

"Agreed, Captain. Just bring us aboard at your leisure."

"John--we have no idea who in blazes these people are."

Maureen concurred.

"Is just letting ourselves be literally taken in such a good idea?"

John shrugged.

"Either they are friendly and legitimate, or they want to capture us. Either way, they may have technology we can use. Right now, we need a place to stop and undo the damage Smith's done. Sorry, but I'm making the call on this one."

Don shook his head.

"And possibly endangering this ship!"

John shook his finger, and pointed towards the Robot.

"You want to join Smith?"

In the name of peace, Don backed down. But Maureen promised herself to have a few words with her husband. But for now, she merely looked for someone.

"Has anyone seen Judy?"

In the bathroom area, Judy Robinson had just finished throwing up. She looked up, as she left.

"Oh, please...Don't let it be this. Don and I just aren't ready yet."

* * *

USS VOYAGER

Neelix bumped into Kes. It was not the first time that day, either.

"Neelix--are you following me?"

"Nooo--but what if I were? I still get concerned about you, Kes. I have that right, don't I?"

She shook her head.

"Thank you, but please give me some space."

He was obviously upset.

"How much space? Would you perhaps like me off the ship?"

He walked off, and she wondered how much plainer she could possibly make matters to the kind, and usually gentle Talaxian. Kes almost felt scared.


	3. Chapter Two And You Are?

**Chapter Two - And You Are..?**

OCTOBER, 1997, ANOTHER UNIVERSE  
He was a master spy, who never once failed his bevy of non-American masters. Whenever they started to figure him out, he fingered another spy, and laughed as justice satisfied was justice denied.

The flight must not go up, that's what he was told. Almost all of them were in on it, and they were paying big. So it was that the master spy set about trying to destroy The Jupiter 2. At the gangplank, he introduced himself to the pilot, Major Don West. If he had known West was about, he would have hit the Iraqis up for more money. But he didn't do freebies. Such was not the way of....

"Smith. Doctor Zachary Smith, at your service, sir. May I get on board, very quickly? I wish to do a next-to-final check. It is less than two weeks now, is it not?"

West didn't care for this man's airs, but let him through.

"Go ahead, pal. Glad to have you do it. I was on a B-X test that went screwy because the civilian inspector couldn't be bothered to do his job."

"Oh, rest assured, May-jor. Zachary Smith is nothing if not thorough."

And he would have to be thorough, too. West's casual quip showed that he was no fool. Most had forgotten that little venture, an example of Smith's very best work.

As he boarded, he saw the children working at various consoles. A pity they all had to die. Any one of them would be an invaluable commodity, if sold to the right bidder. Although, he mused, given the misogyny of many of his clients, they would probably only want 10-year old William.

A casualty of the sometimes destructive limelight, 18-year old Judy Robinson handled all the console hard-wiring, just as her mother had taught her. Noshing on her fat-free chocolate cookies, she silently thanked God she had never accepted heroin from her older Broadway friends. Her casual use of the other substances had cost her plenty enough. Oddly, though, it wasn't her parents' disapproval that snapped her out of it. It was the disappointment she saw in the eyes of her two younger siblings. They no longer had the faintest memories of who they really were, and Judy no longer cared. When she emerged from her fog, Judy saw that she had their respect back. Of course, this meant that she was a permanent part of the project, but she was safe with her family again, and now had her eyes on the prize--namely Don West.

Smith merely noted that he had seen her sing in an otherwise forgettable play, and mused that she would have been better off staying on Broadway. Either way, she would have seen stardust.

There was something odd about 13-year old Penny. Something Smith might have described as the trait of an unspoken Alpha. If cornered, she would be the survivor. Smith always could pick that up. Small wonder that it was she who had spent unending hours detailing every last disaster scenario possible, and restocking the ship accordingly. She even included a recipe for homemade aspirin in their files. Smith knew psych profiles, and this indicated behavior like that of a disaster victim. But his files indicated that The Robinsons had never encountered any sudden life-altering event.

For young Will Robinson, words like Mozart were always tossed around. But although 'Amadeus' was fictionalized, that young genius knew many a Salieri, whose every word he believed. Will was said to like and respect his two sisters, with whom he fought no more often than average. But a non-parental older male could likely be a strong influence on the boy, no matter that one's shortcomings.

"Hello, Doctor Smith. Here for another inspection?"

"Indeed, William. One can never be--too sure--when so important an undertaking is so nearly ready."

Judy looked up from her console's innards.

"Don't worry, Doctor Smith. The way Mom and I have set this up, you could blow up 80% of the controls, and we could still run it all."

"Wonderful, Judith. You're making my work most plain and simple."

So the controls were out. Well, he had known that. To really be sure, he would have had to stay on board the entire journey--and they simply were not paying him enough for that. Given his intense claustrophobia, he'd eventually lose his mind. But then, many spies developed this particular ailment, he was told. Penny shut off her monitor, and smiled.

"Scenarios are all worked out, Doctor Smith. We're good--unless Will is secretly KGB!"

Will responded to the good-natured barb.

"Nyet! Besides, Ve Russians inwented Jupiter 2, back during Cold War!"

Smith didn't get it.

"Er---do you children know a Russian who has made such a claim?"

Judy took point.

"No--Doctor Smith, that was a character--Chekov?"

"From which of his plays?"

The sibs knew then to give up. As Smith prepared to leave in the awkward silence, he again looked over The Robot. Designation B-9, whose purpose was to maintain environmental controls while The Robinsons slept the 98-year journey away in cryogenic stasis. Misprogrammed, his actions--could be disastrous. Will spoke.

"B-9's a fine piece of work, isn't he Doctor?"

"What--oh--no, William. I am not at all impressed with this walking--booby-trap."

With his final sabotage plan in mind, Smith left. Judy did soon after, seeking to remind Major West that 18 meant she was no longer 'jailbait'.

"Guys--remember. When you download the TV disks--Night Stalker and X-Files for me, M*A*S*H* for Don, Gunsmoke and Bonanza for Dad, and Cheers, Mary Tyler Moore, both Newhart shows, and Dick Van Dyke for Mom."

Will looked at the available memory. He frowned.

"Penny--want to make a guess about what we have to do?"

She sighed, and nodded. She also wished that they weren't such good kids.

"For me, keep Little House, but lose Brady/Partridge, and Happy Days. I have those memorized, anyway. You?"

"I'm keeping all five years of the first Star Trek, and Next Generation--and the movies. But I don't need 'Giants'."

Penny shook her head.

"Giants?"

"You know, that show that ran opposite Star Trek? About the people who were stuck on a planet of oversized humanoids?"

"Ohh...yeah. Boy, did that get silly later on. Plus, they never did get home."

"So--we're still stuck. I need to get rid of two more."

Penny looked it over.

"Well, here. These last two Star Trek series. I haven't seen a single episode of either. Plus, we won't be here when they finish up. It's either them--or The Muppet Show."

Will deleted the later two Star Trek shows.

"Yeah, since the project began to kick in, I haven't seen a single program, or gone anywhere. Penny, where do we go to get our lives back?"

"You're asking the wrong girl, little brother. My date for Sadie Hawkins pulled out on me. Said he didn't want to be tied to a legend."

Will looked shocked.

"A legend? You mean he's heard you snore?"

With smiles on both their faces, the last great chase of their childhood began.

* * *

USS VOYAGER, DELTA QUADRANT, MAIN UNIVERSE

With the gentle touch of Harry Kim controlling it, the tractor beam guided The Jupiter 2 into the Shuttlebay. Tuvok and Paris stood beside Janeway. Chakotay wasn't there, stating that he needed to undertake some manner of quest. Oddly, what really bothered The Captain was the lack of Neelix. His overly gregarious nature usually calmed unsettled visitors as much as it sometimes annoyed the crew of Voyager. Whatever was eating the Talaxian, she hoped he would snap out of it soon.

Two people descended the ramp that came out of the flying saucer, a man and a woman, both Human in appearance.

"Captain Janeway, I am Doctor Maureen Robinson, and this is my husband and our mission leader, John, whom you've already spoken to. Please understand- -we've asked our family to remain inside till we've had a chance to chat."

Janeway nodded. Sensible but not paranoid precautions spoke well of this pair and their brood.

"It's always good to meet new people--and hopefully new friends, as well. Welcome to Voyager. I think we might find that we have a lot in common."

Not knowing if or how long they would be staying aboard Voyager, the crew of The Jupiter 2 went about its normal business as usual, till they heard from their CO's. Don West tried an unusual tack to deal with a persistent headache.

"Smith--this isn't a threat. This isn't a warning, or an order. It's not even advice. It's just information that a sharp cookie like yourself can maybe use to his advantage. In one word: Behave."

Zachary Smith was his usual receptive self.

"Reaaally, Major. You speak to me as though I were dear William."

West shook his head.

"I would never speak to Will this way, Smith. Because he behaves. So does Penny. In a way, they are the very reason you should learn to do the same."

"Is there a point to your blather, Major West?"

Don moved to finish, wondering why he had ever bothered.

"When all this started, the only one who spoke against you--was me. Then, you lost John--pretty early on. Maureen took a few months, but she gave up handing chores to you--because why bother? She'd spend more time hunting you down than she would just doing it herself. I don't know when Judy made her choice--but it's pretty clear she did. Penny you lost when that poor Schmoe claiming to be Satan showed up. He was a con artist and a thief, Smith--and I liked him better than I like you. The fact that he was up front with us about--well, being no angel--really threw Penny for a loop. She was used to dealing with less straightforward felons."

Needless to say, none of these words were reaching their target.

"Have a care, sir!"

"Now, I honestly was surprised by Will. A 15-year old kid whose only friend roughly his age is his own sister--no worldly skills--finally broke with you just a few hours ago. Smith--you lost Will. You now have no one who will speak up for you, next time you pull something. So do us all a favor and just behave. If these Voyager folks are legit--then let's not blow their hospitality."

Smith left as Smith often did, in a huff.

"I am going below deck, now, May-jor. There, I shall speak with those two, wonderful, loyal children who adore me as both a mentor and a role model. Unlike yourself, who keeps company with their older sister. The  
idea---why, I Never!"

Don nodded.

"Yeah--I can believe that you never, Smith. In fact--it would explain just about everything."

In Captain Kathryn Janeway's office, a meeting of a far more civil nature was taking place. Doctor John Robinson stared at his cup.

"Actual coffee. Strong, too. Captain--you already have my undying thanks. We have a technology that can recover our used coffee grounds, but---someone---used them to protect his plants."

Janeway smiled, but was a bit thrown by this praise.

"Actually, that's a coffee substitute that our chef, Mister Neelix, came up with to placate me when I've used up my replicator rations. I'm glad someone enjoys it."

Doctor Maureen Robinson sipped hers.

"Good, nutty flavor."

This was exactly what Janeway couldn't stand about the stuff. She decided to start the basic exchange of information.

"We are a combined crew. Suffice it to say, a political situation had developed back home that drove a wedge in between certain factions of our Federation. If we have time, I'll be more than happy to go into detail. But when we were sent out to capture a ship belonging to The Maquis, both ships were swept out here, into our galaxy's Delta Quadrant. In short, the Maquis Captain, Chakotay, became my First Officer, and many of his surviving crewmembers became our crewmembers. As Mister Tuvok has recently attested, the alignment that made the two crews one family occurred much more quickly than any of us expected. Now, we are slowly but surely working our way home. Even though that home is still 72,000 light years away."

John nearly winced.

"That's quite a distance to travel, Captain. I don't envy you at all. Tell me, what is the homeworld of your Federation?"

Janeway was somewhat confused.

"Doctors--what part of space were you in when we found you?"

John looked at Maureen, both a little put off by the seemingly odd question.

"Well, before we entered that rift, we were quite lost, but calculated ourselves to be 1.45 light-years from Alpha Centauri. With luck and some experimentation, we think we can make it within twenty-five years. It'll be rough, especially on our two younger children. But we're sure we can do it. How long do you expect your journey to take?"

Kathryn began to sense that something was wrong.

"Straight through, we can travel about 1000 light years per year."

Maureen started.

"Captain--your race has broken the light barrier?"

Now, The Captain knew the ground she tread on.

"Doctors---"

John shook his head.

"It's John and Maureen--or Maureen and John. Only our daughter Judy cares about top billing."

Janeway hoped the attending Tom Paris got the billing reference, because she surely didn't.

"Maureen-John--its Kathryn, at least in here. I--don't know how to break this to you--but you were nowhere near Alpha Centauri. Based on our scans of the universe you came from--you were in your own galaxy's Delta Quadrant. Now how that happened is beyond me."

Maureen was stunned, but could still speak. John was at a loss for words.

"Kathryn--are you saying that the rift took us through to another universe? Also, you still haven't answered our question about your homeworld."

Janeway knew, in her heart, that this next answer would prove as great a shock as their translocation.

"We have many species on board, but the majority of my crew are humans, like yourselves, and most of them, like myself and Mister Paris--come from Earth. Just apparently not your Earth."

Now, Maureen was silent, but her husband had somewhat recovered himself. But John still was taken aback.

"Kathryn--I've been to another universe, so that part I can buy. But how in heaven's name could we end up that far from our Earth? We certainly don't have trans-light technology. I don't think that any Earth power in 1997 had anything remotely approaching it."

Now it was the Voyager officers' turns to start. Tuvok asked the obvious.

"Doctor Robinson--how long ago on your Earth had The Soviet Union broken up?"

John nodded.

"Six years. Gorbachev's reforms overtook him, and the Warsaw Pact just fell apart."

With a glance to 20th Century maven Paris, Tuvok confirmed that this much was indeed matching history. Janeway followed up.

"John--Maureen--using the Old Earth Calendar that predominated at that time--this is the year 2374. So now we have to find out why you were in a part of your galaxy you couldn't have gotten to, and why a seemingly stable rift brought you to this time and place. I will keep my bargain and fill in the details of our politics, once my First Officer completes some personal business. But--without violating your privacy or security, could you tell us how you came to build that remarkable little ship?"

John was recalling recent events, trying to find some answer to the twin enigmas. So Maureen took point on this.

"Kathryn, this is a long story."

Janeway gently quipped.

"Go on. I have at least 75 years."

Back aboard the Jupiter 2, some chores were finally done, and two hard-working young people were at last sitting down.

"Will--mind if I turn on some music?"

"Go ahead."

Penny Robinson indeed did that.

"Would--you like to dance with me?"

He shook his head.

"No thanks."

She reached for his hand.

"C'mon--just a little dance."

He pulled away.

"I said--No Thanks."

She seemed upset.

"Would it kill you to dance with your sister?"

He walked away, and towards the ladder upstairs.

"I think you know the answer to that."

Once he was gone, Penny whispered.

"He's never going to forgive me. Never."

Once near his cabin, Will talked to himself, as well.

"She puts up a good front. But I know--she's never going to forgive me."

Judy Robinson saw and gestured to her younger brother, as he came from below deck.

"Will--I'm sorry. I know you're finished with your chores. But--I need another clean-up."

A trifle upset, Will shook his head.

"Stomach troubles again? Judy, what've you been eating?"

"Let's--not go there, little brother. Just please clean it up?"

He fetched a mop and pail.

"Why not? That's what I'm here for, right?"

She raised an eyebrow at this.

"That's not much of an attitude. You know, it is your and Penny's job to keep this place clean."

He put the mop down, determined to knock the former star from her high horse.

"You and I both know that the only reason for that is, you threw a temper tantrum, demanding to be fully counted as an adult. Well, Judy, you got it. Now, all the chores belong to us two. And there's no one younger for us to dump them on."

She fell back, but only a bit.

"You-you shouldn't speak to me that way. I am the oldest."

"Then why can't you clean your own area? Mom and Dad and Don do. Don't talk to me about Smith--about Doctor Smith, I mean."

Judy gave up.

"Because you are ten times more thorough than me. Because I don't want our parents, or Don to know I've been throwing up, Will."

She gently raised one side of his cheek, to see that once-always happy smile.

"Will--the day that you and Penny entered my life was one that will always be among my very happiest."

"Days."

She shook her head.

"What--days?"

"Judy, you said the day Penny and I entered your life. But we didn't enter it at the same time."

Judy chided herself for being a former actress who could not remember her own lines, and almost giving away a vital piece of the plot.

"Of course. What kind of slip-up was that? My point is, I did kind of get you two in Dutch. I didn't mean to. But I had to be an adult. I was twenty-two, and they were still speaking to me roughly the way they did when we left Earth. So I'm sorry about that. Listen, can you keep a secret? I mean, even from Penny?"

"I guess so."

She took his hand.

"Remember how, when you and she were little, I would help take care of you? Did I do a good job?"

He smiled.

"Of course you did. I never said that you never did anything for us. But you get these moods, Judy. Then, not even Don wants to be near you."

She sat down, and rubbed her head.

"Don being near me is part of the problem. Will, I haven't been in a mood by accident, nor have I been throwing up by accident. But an accident has occurred."

Will felt suddenly grownup, fully realizing the secret with which he was being entrusted.

"You're pregnant."

* * *

In his quarters, a divided First Officer summoned a spirit. That spirit was his own father.

"You do not seek communion with me directly, Chakotay, unless it is the gravest of concerns. My son, what troubles you?"

He took a moment to answer.

"Tuvok is quite efficient. When our troubled journey began, he developed a training scenario, in case the Maquis committed mutiny. He later abandoned it, but it was found and sabotaged by Seska Marlis, before she left us. Tuvok and Paris nearly died as a result. Be'lanna now hunts for any remnants of her time here. Father, I must know something. Seska died here. Does her spirit walk these halls? Does she haunt me in death, as she did in life?"

The image of the Elder shook his head.

"Did you not choose to place her body in a torpedo tube?"

"Yes. But Cardassian beliefs vary on the importance of the body to the afterlife. I believe someone like Seska might regard their mortal coil as irrelevant. She wanted control here. She would not leave willingly."

The parental spirit nodded.

"Then let her stay. I sense that, if she is here, she is a zephyr amidst gusts of change. Let her violator's spirit scream as you cross back to the Alpha Quadrant. Forget this woman, Chakotay. Her child was not yours. Any power she might have held over you ended when your Doctor told her that harsh truth."

Chakotay was silent, so the spirit queried him further.

"Paris betrayed you, by failing his mission and then earning release by tracking you. Tuvok betrayed you to your Kathryn, at his first opportunity. Why do you feel no rage towards them?"

Chakotay raised a finger.

"Tuvok--was doing his job. I'dve expected no less, if he were a Maquis infiltrator in Starfleet. Tom has worked his behind off proving himself, despite his words to the contrary. He is a fulcrum to this ship's life, after Kathryn and myself. Failed Starfleet and failed Maquis making it right. I have no quarrel with either of them."

He breathed in.

"But Seska? She had no cause not to reveal herself out here. The Obsidian Order's HQ is a fair walk. Also, why make allies? Is the Cardie need for power that culturally inbred? Then, she scams on that fool Jonas. Thank goodness Tom was willing to let his name be destroyed, to draw her out. What about The Trabe? Her attacks had us so disoriented, we overlooked that they were worse than the Kazon. Finally, she plays me so well, she folds my hand and takes the ship. Our ship."

Father tried in vain to calm his living son.

"But now she is dead. She can do you no more harm, my son."

"Father--you didn't see the way that computer program fought Be'lanna. There was an intelligence behind it. I won't let my naiveté threaten this ship or its crew again. Ro Laren warned me about her. But I felt Ro couldn't be trusted. Idiot."

"Chakotay--you have visitors, and I must go soon. Make your request of me, for I sense you called me for more than mere talk."

The frustrated XO nodded.

"Father--give me Seska's true name. Her Cardassian name. Her true name would give me the power to finally destroy her, and make my wrong right."

The older man got up, and doused the fire that burned in front of them.

"No. Would you have spirits speaking the names we earn in our first great vision quests? I can only tell you that her true name hides in the garbage pile of a vast wasteland. Seek it there."

"Father--don't walk away! Fath---"

Chakotay felt a knife in his back. He fell, and heard a familiar voice.

"You'll never be free of me!"

He awoke in his quarters, happy for once to leave that higher reality behind.

By the time Chakotay had dressed and reached Janeway's office, he had at least externally thrown off the effects of his vision. Internally was quite another matter. So it was he couldn't tell whether Janeway's first words to him were a slap or a jibe.

"Good of you to join us. Doctors Robinson - Chakotay, a fine leader in his own right, and the man I count on to carry on if I fall. Some Starfleet Captains call their Execs Number One. To me, that is quite implicit. Chakotay, these are the mission leaders of The Jupiter 2, Doctors John and Maureen Robinson. Just like ours, theirs is a long story."

Chakotay shook both their hands.

"Doctors. My apologies that I wasn't here earlier. A personal matter kept me away, briefly."

John nodded.

"I imagine it must be a measure of your effectiveness as Exo that the ship runs so well in your absence, Mister Chakotay."

Maureen smiled.

"By the way, Kathryn here made an error. Only my husband John is mission leader."

Chakotay picked up the Captain's slight discomfort about a woman who would go out of her way to indicate a subordinate status. But her First Officer knew well how to neutralize that.

"On any ship, John--Maureen, there can be only one Captain."

Janeway's comfort level rose and she spoke again.

"I brought Mister Chakotay here for more than just a first meeting. I didn't want a retelling of our history to turn into an anti-Maquis tirade on my part. You don't mind, do you Commander?"

Like his own father, Captain Janeway was trusting him with the reliable telling of the family story. He would not fail her.

"No, Captain. Happy to tell it."

Kathryn turned back to John and Maureen.

"You two go first. If there's any part of your story you feel should not be told, just let us know that's the case. We're not here to compromise either your privacy or your security. From time to time, I may ask Mister Paris for comparisons between your 20th Century and ours."

John nodded at his wife.

"Go ahead, honey. Like Kathryn, I know who I can count on to get the story straight."

Maureen began, deciding to do only the very barest of editing for any concerns other than time.

"On...our Earth, in 1986, a disaster occurred. Some manner of cosmic event briefly spiked background radiation all over our galaxy, so far as our telescopes could read. It was harmless, except for the seven astronauts of the Space Shuttle Challenger. Its loss almost broke NASA, which was never overflowing in funds anyway, despite what the press said."

Tom Paris raised a hand.

"I did a detailed report on Challenger, back when. But its failure was due to what they called an O-Ring Seal."

John nodded.

"Funny. The President's Chief Of Staff chewed me out for delaying the Challenger liftoff, because of those same O-Rings. Then, the  
I-told-you-so's flowed in after the spike."

Maureen continued.

"With the Cold War winding down, some super-hi-tech was liberated for our use, and so we began work on The Jupiter 2. Happily, we only needed construction, not R+D funding."

All three Voyager officers could tell Maureen was holding back, but not actually lying. All three had also correctly surmised that The Robinsons, like themselves, must have been glad-handed and then burned on many occasions by those they encountered. But she went on, uninterrupted.

"Our idea was to give our overcrowded planet some breathing room, by establishing a colony around Earth's nearest neighbor, Alpha Centauri. Of course, by that point, even the most backward of countries were starting to use birth control, something I myself have never approved of, in any form. But still our mission symbolized hope."

Tom spoke up again, briefly.

"On our world, there was a Eugenics War at that time. The final toll from the battles with the tyrants struck two billion, when you count all the ethnic cleansings, sudden outbreaks of engineered diseases, and 'mysterious' crop failures."

Maureen took note of this.

"For good or ill, Mister Paris, no genetic monsters arose on our world. So with our work completed, we clambered into our cryogenic tubes for a 98-year slumber. But several problems came up. Chief among them was a reluctant stowaway named Doctor Zachary Smith."

Tom seemed to almost start at that name, but then dropped to an almost Tuvokian calm.

"Doctor Smith may be best described as an embodiment of the old Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times. Sadly, those interesting times have been marked by selfishness, greed, short-sightedness, and inexplicable behavior that early on, even bordered on the murderous. Not only did his extra weight throw our ship off course, but his endless scheming and innate laziness has cost us countless opportunities to achieve our goal of actually reaching Alpha Centauri."

Tuvok, silent until now, asked a simple but telling question of their guests.

"Why, Doctors, would you not then turn out such an individual? If he is as you describe, then he has next to no worth. Indeed, putting him off on a habitable planet would seem ideal."

John answered this one.

"Well, Mister Tuvok, it's not always him--just mostly. Besides, he is such a helpless fool, even if we gave him all we had before turning him out, odds are he'd be dead in a week."

Maureen disagreed.

"I don't know about that, John. He'd find a way. You people will likely never meet a more opportunistic individual than Doctor Smith."

Chakotay chose not to counter Maureen's statement at this juncture, trying but failing to heed his father's advice about Seska.

Observing the visiting saucer but not entering was Kes, whose wanderlust of late was nearly overwhelming. But her reverie would not last long.

"Odds are, you'll fool them, too."

"Neelix?"

The Talaxian's usual perpetual smile had been replaced by a sneer.

"Our visitors. You'll charm them, like you do almost everyone else. Well, now hear this: When you leave, you're not coming back. You're not going to blame us for all your troubles, and hand this ship over to our enemies. I'll kill you first. Remember, Kes--at least one person on board knows what you are really about. Bad enough you broke my heart, but someday soon you will have the temerity to lash out at all these good people? Never. This isn't one of The Captain's Greek Tragedies, and you--are no Fury."

He left, leaving Kes not only frightened, but wondering--how could Neelix know?

Aboard the docked Jupiter 2, Judy Robinson pushed open the sliding door to her younger brother Will's quarters. She glared at him.

"How could you tell Don? Will, you promised to keep my secret."

The young man looked up.

"Judy, he asked me why you were so volatile--and you are. But the only thing I told him was that he was talking to the wrong person. That maybe you had something to tell him. That's all."

As before, she backed off. It was becoming a habit.

"Will, I can't tell him now! You are so very smart--smarter than any one of us--that you can't see how this will change things between us. Suppose Don isn't ready to be a father?"

Will got up. He was sometimes thrown by how often his very together, very worldly eldest sister became grasped by her fears, as though she were a small child.

"Judy--you have a terrific figure. I've always noticed that. So I kind of noticed, even before you told me the news. You're showing. Just slightly--but I think you're gonna show more, pretty soon."

She realized the implication, and further realized that telling Don West the news was certainly inevitable. She pulled the cheek of one of two gifts she had been given, that fateful day.

"You little pervert. You're not supposed to notice how good your sister looks--even if I do look smashing!"

They hugged, and Judy left to begin to formulate the way to tell her man that their lives were about to change forever.

But she also noticed how Will's embrace was furtive, and how he pulled away. So she decided to consult her other younger sibling. Penny was neutral, trying first to catch wind of Judy's mood.

"Do you want to have this baby?"

She nodded.

"I think I do. But its Don's reaction I'm concerned about. Mom and Dad I'll handle as I have to. Penny, do you think he'll want us to have it?"

Penny put down her head.

"Why wouldn't he? Don loves kids. He's said so on a lot of occasions. Besides, if Mom and Dad are ever gonna be grandparents...."

She trailed off. Judy asked a pointed question.

"Penny--has anything happened between you and Will? An argument?"

"No. We both agreed to a permanent truce. If we're gonna make it out here, we can't have the back-and-forth annoying each other, like we used to."

"Then what happened? You two get along well enough, but it's like you're living in fear of each other."

Penny closed her eyes, which began to tear.

"Judy--I ruined things between us. Maybe forever! I think Will hates me, now."

Judy would be a while coaxing what happened out of the isolated 18-year old.

* * *

In Janeway's office, Maureen relayed more of her family's odyssey.

"Perhaps it's wrong of me to come down so hard on Doctor Smith. He's not always the one. Sometimes it's the kids. Many's the time when we've been targeted by alien forces like we were some kind of cosmic convenience store, or free lunch wagon."

Janeway smiled, then caught herself.

"Sorry, Maureen. But that hits closer to home than you know."

"It's all right, Kathryn. I'm glad to know it rains all over creation. We were beginning to feel picked on."

She shifted back into story mode, fully realizing that five years could only be partially encapsulated in such a brief conversation.

"The journey has been hard on us all. But John and I have each other, and our faith. Judy has Don West and he her. Although she seems to think we're unaware of the extent of things. Doctor Smith I won't attempt to figure. The only people I actively worry about are Will and Penny. They have no one who's just for them. Thank goodness they stopped fighting earlier than we expected. But a single best friend is a poor substitute for drive-ins, concerts, and fast food meeting places. Even if we live, what effect will being isolated ultimately have?"

Paris and Tuvok both seemed unsettled. The Security Officer spoke up.

"Captain--I believe it would be to all our benefits if Mister Paris and I told our other visitors that a decision is pending. May we do so?"

Janeway looked over at the Robinsons.

"John--any problem with that?"

He shook his head.

"None, Kathryn. In fact, I'd appreciate it."

The two officers left the room, but the unsettled look did not leave their faces as they entered the turbolift. Silence, Tuvok observed, was neither a habit nor a virtue with Lieutenant Paris. So it was that Tuvok uncharacteristically spoke first.

"Is this an uncomfortable subject for you, Mister Paris?"

Tom was also unusually brief in his remarks.

"Yeah. Those poor kids."

Tuvok tried to inject logic, but feared that even his own neutrality was suspect.

"Statistics aside, there is no guarantee that 'OCC' as some call it, will occur. Add to that, The Robinsons appear to be of a high moral caliber."

Again, Tom seemed a bit lost.

"So? They're good kids, from a good family. Smart as whips, to coin a phrase. They're still alone, Tuvok. I've been to colonies where OCC was rampant. It was the first time my Dad actually begged me to stay on base, and in my quarters. Not ordered, or threatened--begged. Owen Paris never begs anyone for anything."

Tuvok knew this from talks with Captain Janeway. He also knew Tom's nature.

"What did you find when you violated that agreement?"

Paris didn't protest the presumption.

"My Dad asked me the same thing. No yelling. It was like he was curious. He knew I was shaken up. I was only out for an hour. By my standards, that was poking my head out the door. What did I find, Tuvok?"

He looked directly in the Vulcan's face.

"I found a group of good kids from good families, all smart as whips, who had been into OCC since they were living shipboard at 10, and who could no longer conceive of walking away from it. The parents all turned a blind eye. You know what one said to me?"

Tuvok shook his head.

"I must admit that I do not."

Paris affected a jaded air that he, on his worst day, could never embrace for real.

"Oh, well. At least I know the other family.' Then he chuckled. I didn't see the humor."

Tuvok said a name that formality and practice usually kept him from saying.

"Tom--OCC is not unknown among Vulcan colonies. It is simply more discreet. If you feel that strongly about this matter- -intervene. If The Robinsons choose to stay the month with us, you will have the time."

Paris appreciated the words, but still felt lost.

"What would you have me do?"

Tuvok opened his mouth, but then stopped. When he spoke again, it was a good indicator of his own divided spirit.

"I--have not the slightest idea."

* * *

The relative genius of the Robinsons aside, Don West was not a stupid man. He knew well of actions and their consequences, and he loved Judy Robinson very much. So he responded to her news with a smile and a gentle quip.

"Phew! And here I thought you had just gained weight. I was dreading how to bring up the subject of you going on a diet. I've faced alien monsters--but no man is that brave."

She saw the love and the desire in her man's eyes, and so Judy left a more difficult subject for another day. At least, she left one difficult subject aside. Another would not wait seven months.

"Don--have you talked to Will, like I asked?"

He nodded.

"Till I was blue in the face. All he would say was that he did something that hurt Penny, and that he felt lousy about it. He thinks that she'll never be able to forgive him."

Which exactly matched what Penny had told Judy--except it was Penny who felt the guilt, speaking of something she had done wrong. A mystery, to be sure.

But for now, the parents-to-be thought only of names, living space--and the thorny particulars of parental notification.

* * *

Inside Janeway's office, Maureen had told all she could, or all she cared to. So Chakotay now spoke for Voyager.

"I'll be brief. Not for privacy, or security. Not even for time. But because how we got here is quite simple. Back home, The Maquis pulled away from The Federation and from Starfleet because a treaty we firmly disagreed with a somewhat untrustworthy power convinced us that we could no longer work with them. The Caretaker was the wind that displaced us into The Delta Quadrant. This lady bound us together again, and showed that maybe the Maquis and Starfleet folks back home have something to learn about working together. Some aboard Voyager say that I swallowed my pride in becoming Exec, rather than gambling on mutiny. But I quickly remind them that Captain Janeway swallowed a lot of her pride. Two Maquis leaders became part of the Command crew, here. One man proved us all wrong, and rose from being despised by both crews to being the heart of this ship. Such was the cohesiveness of this new family that we survived two major betrayals, from people we thought certain we could trust."

Sensing bitterness in his last statement, Kathryn threw in.

"Those sad individuals--are no longer with us."

John Robinson chuckled.

"You're a better CO than me, Kathryn. Our pain-in-the-neck is still with us."

Janeway now put her offer on the line.

"The rift is stable, and we plan to observe it for the next month, while we undergo a long-term systems check. We're now approaching space belonging to a decidedly unfriendly power known as The Borg. So we need to recalibrate as badly as you apparently do. If you want to stay while we do that, you're more than welcome. We'll offer what help we can, within the interpreted limits of our Prime Directive of non-interference."

Back home, Maureen had always dealt with salespeople. She did so now.

"Kathryn--what kind of help would you be able to offer? You must understand, our experiences in this area have been mixed, and in that I'm being kind."

Chakotay was glad to hear that question. So was his Captain. A look between them confirmed things, on their end. Kathryn spoke again.

"So you've said. Maureen, John--this ship is not paradise, despite our technology. Even if our Prime Directive allowed us to give you everything--which it does not-- we simply don't have everything to give. This is not an offer of the sun, the moon, and all the stars thrown in. This is just an offer of shelter from some other nomads who are, in their own way, even more lost than you are. So? A month's stay?"

The married couple exchanged a look of their own. Kathryn's bluntness had carried the day. John gave a CO's answer.

"We'll stay. We're going to keep our eyes open, mind you. But what harm could 30 Days do?"

So Kathryn called Tom.

* * *

"Got it, Captain. I'll tell Major West."

Tuvok had resumed his clockwork security checks, so Tom went up the ramp of The Jupiter 2 alone. He knocked on the outer hull, noting that the ship was a lot sturdier than it appeared at first glance.

"Hellllo! Is anybody home?"

After a brief but unproductive talk with Will, Major Don West was sitting by the controls and greeted Lieutenant Tom Paris. The meeting of the hotshot pilots began.

"Yeah, we're home. Can I help you?"

"Hope so. Major West?"

"Mostly it's Don, now. And you are?"

"Tom Paris. I'm helm, here on Voyager. This place--it's terrific. I mean--those controls--they're unreal."

Don smiled with pride.

"She's my second best girl. As much trouble as she gives us--she's yet to give out. The Jupiter 2 is more reliable than a certain alleged human being I know."

Tom guessed.

"Doctor Smith?"

Don nodded.

"The legend spreads across a new ship!"

Tom was about to sit down at the controls when he saw a vision. Something that spoke directly to who he was, at his core. He could not turn away.

"You--are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. The way you're built--the way you look. You--are magnificent."

Judy, Penny and Will all walked in on this odd scene. The girls stared askance at the newcomer. Will broke the silence.

"Don, who is that guy talking to?"

West shrugged.

"I think he's talking to The Robot."

Tom's hungry eyes took in every inch of B-9.  
The mechanoid grew apprehensive.

"Major West--please determine this individual's intentions towards me."

Paris snapped out of it.

"S-Sorry. But the last time I saw something as well-designed as you, it was in my garage program."

Don and Judy responded as one.

"You have a garage?!"

Robot now understood matters.

"Thank You, sir. I often have considered my design to be a superior one."

Tom then saw the two kids who were to become his concern. But before all the introductions could be completed, Voyager's PA blared.

"Warning: This ship is experiencing a systems-wide failure. Evacuation must begin within 5 standard minutes."

Will looked around. His question was also partly a statement of suspicion, over the source of Voyager's trouble.

"Where's Doctor Smith?" 


	4. Chapter Three The Faces Of Zachary Smith

**Chapter Three - The Faces of Zachary Smith**

JUPITER 2, 1998

Doctor Smith's eyes shifted, quite slowly. His was the gaze of a snake, amidst a maze full of plump mice.

"And why, precisely, should I choose to relinquish control over the Robot? After all, I put B-9 under my authority to protect myself from Major West's mercurial temper. A temper, I might add, that he still has not placed under control."

Don balled his hands into fists.

"You want mercurial, Smith?! I'll belt you all the way back to the planet Mercury!"

John hushed the pilot.

"Don--in case I haven't made it clear, I'm in command of this mission. As Churchill once put it, I'll deal with the devil to see to the safety of my charges. That includes all of you. Now, Doctor Smith-I need B-9 under my direct charge to make these repairs. I can't have it turning to you every other command. We need these repairs to survive. Now, will you give up that control?"

The very smart man smiled. They needed him to survive, and it had now been said out loud. He could afford to be generous. For life equaled his presence. As it should be.

"Of course, Doctor Robinson. A Smith is only too glad to oblige those in need. B-9! By my voice command, I release you from accepting only my commands. You will now take orders from Doctor John Robinson as well."

The mechanoid grunted.

"I-will-comply."

After the repairs were completed, Will Robinson stared at B-9 as it lay in its recharge alcove. Penny soon joined him.

"What are you doing?"

Will shrugged.

"I just can't believe he'd ever turn on us."

Penny's eyes narrowed.

"Will--you're such a little boy. It's just a dumb robot. He follows whatever orders he's given. That's all."

Will responded as a 10 year-old might.

"If YOU weren't so googly-eyed over Major West, maybe you wouldn't be so stupid! He's not just a robot. I touch him, and I feel something. Something really good. Something that somebody who's obsessed with death couldn't understand."

Penny was just as much a 13-year old.

"I'M not the one who's asking Don to tell idiotic war stories all the time! Just who's obsessed with death, Will? And for your information, little boy, those scenarios I planned have helped us to survive a lot of stuff that you would never have thought of. What do your sims do except give happy-sappy endings that never occur?"

Challenged at least partially on an intellectual level, Will calmed ever so slightly.

"My sims show us the right ways to take. Yours show every single little thing that could go wrong. Back on Earth, you used to drive me crazy every time you came up with something new."

Penny, almost for spite, calmed a little as well.

"Well, how do you think I felt? You lay in those courses so perfectly, I had to work overtime just to think of what could possibly happen. You never make it easy, Will."

The boy shook his head.

"You think we'll ever be friends?"

She shook her head.

"Can't happen. Siblings in a confined space are usually lucky if they don't kill each other over some little thing."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"I picked up a book before we left. It was about rural and early colonial families, and what happened because of isolation."

Will nodded.

"Like violence. What else happened?"

Penny gulped, and then lied.

"Nothing...we ever need to worry about. Those were the old days, after all."

If Will sensed her deception, he chose to let it go.

"I guess. But Penny--touch him. Just once."

Giving in, she touched a piece of chest-plate on B-9. Penny's eyes then went wide.

"Will--it feels like Grandma's old steel refrigerator--oh, she always had so many treats for us. Jell-O, waiting in those little ice cream cups....."

The sight that Will hated most now began. Penny was crying.

"I miss her. I used to have nightmares that a monster came and ate her--then the whole world, too."

"Do you see now? I even asked Dad what Robot was made from. He said it was classified. I have a high rating!"

"It doesn't matter. He's our Robot--and I like him."

So both children began touching the plate of the mechanoid made from the pod that had carried them to Earth as infant and toddler. It made them feel safe. And if, amidst the many lights of the spaceship, they failed to notice a purplish glow from their hands--who could blame them?

The next morning, Smith resumed his continued efforts at sabotage.

"B-9--make sure that the gravimetric displacers go offline a third of the way into the atmosphere. That should allow me to--"

Robot cut him off.

"Such an action would lead to harm coming to The Robinson family. I cannot allow this. The order is unlawful and is refused."

Smith's haughtiness was definitely online.

"You daaarre to refuse me? What, exactly, are you saying?"

The Robot's torso turned towards him.

"In your ear, Doctor Smith."

Dumbfounded, the saboteur withdrew to his cabin. He stared into the mirror, and spoke into a small recorder.

"Aeolus 14 Umbra had better have an extra-large bonus payment waiting for me, when I return to Earth--and I shall return. I am as steadfast as the Northern Star. But for now, the enclosed spaces are eating at my sanity. With B-9 now forever out of my control, I have nothing to prevent them all from agreeing with West and showing me the airlock whilst under full throttle. I knew the Major was dangerous when dear Saddam banned the name Donald from his environs. You simply don't earn that kind of respect easily. So, to slip beneath his gaze, I shall gain the children to my side with the use of that most beloved of all circus denizens."

He put down the recorder, and repeated a mantra whose effects only he knew, while staring into his own eyes in the mirror.

"Jester..Punchinello..Fop..Claudius..Pimpernel..wallflower..mild-mannered..Methos...."

A few hours later, Smith came running out, screaming.

"I saw a creature---a most hideous monster---it stared at me--straight through the hull!"

West shook his head.

"I knew it! He's a sneak and a coward!"

Judy tried to calm the older man.

"Oh, Don! Can't you tell that whatever this poor man has seen frightened him silly?"

The eyes of Zachary Smith darted about, like a plump mouse in a maze full of invisible snakes.

"Oh, how did I come to be in such a state?"

And this was an honest question on his part.

* * *

USS VOYAGER, 2374

While Tuvok held Smith far away from engineering's controls, Captain Janeway asked her Chief Engineer to repeat herself.

"He touched---what?"

Be'lanna Torres shrugged.

"The off switch, Captain--he hit the off switch."

Janeway put her hand to her head.

"We have an off switch?"

Torres shook her head.

"Normally, we don't. But Doctor Moron here---"

"Have a care, woman! Why, I'll have you know...."

Don West and Be'lanna spoke as one.

"Shut up, Smith!"

They nodded at one another as Smith shut up shutting up. Torres continued.

"He wanders in here, while I am working on the most delicate phase of our long-term recalibration, and begins playing with the relays. I chased him out. He wandered back in. The 'off' switch was a safety, in case the systems went haywire while we resetting the basics. It was meant to be flicked on, then off. It was recessed, hidden, and known only to me. How he managed to find it and hit a total of SEVENTEEN times is beyond me.  
He's either the luckiest idiot or the greatest genius saboteur in two universes!"

Judy glared at Smith, and said something that once even Don would have kept from saying.

"Give us more time, Ms. Torres. We're still trying to figure that one out, ourselves."

Tuvok gestured.

"Captain--where shall I escort Doctor Smith? The Brig?"

Smith shuddered.

"Ohhh, pleeaaase, Madam Captain. I cannot bear imprisonment. My refined systems cannot handle such a state."

Janeway shook her head.

"Lieutenant--confine him to guest quarters.  
That should keep him out of trouble."

"Oh, it willl, Madam. It will."

Kathryn was becoming ill.

"And tell The Doctor to schedule a--full evaluation of our reluctant guest."

Tuvok nodded.

"Indeed."

As Smith was led away, Be'lanna turned to two young heroes.

"Penny, Will--you both helped me figure out Smith's blunder, just in time. How did you reason through our controls so quickly?"

Penny shook her head.

"Your controls are advanced, Be'lanna. But we've figured that kind of thing out before."

Will nodded.

"And--if there's one thing we do know--it's cleaning up after Doctor Smith. You just know where to look, after awhile."

Paris talked to The Robot.

"So, B-9? Do you prefer B-9, B, or maybe we'll just call you Nine?"

The mechanoid moved its pincered arm dismissively.

"All of those are unacceptable, Tom Paris. I vastly prefer the very simple designation, 'Robot'."

Tom nodded.

"Yeah, I can see why. After all, who'd want to be referred to by just a number?"

Tuvok picked up Neelix on the way to Smith's guest quarters. He had hoped to use the Talaxian as a buffer against Smith's endless banter. But the Vulcan was in for a surprise, if he expected a union of kindred souls to occur.

"So you see, Mister Neelix? A mere shower. An effort to keep my appearances up, and they one and all turned upon me, as though I were the greatest fiend since Richard The Third! Even the dear children fell in line with their hateful elders. You have no idea of the burdens I have borne in this hid-ee-ous half-decade. I'm not at all certain how I've maintained my sanity."

Neelix, Tuvok realized, had lately seemed different, but he could not trace the divergence in his memory. Since Tuvok had a very good memory, this too disturbed him. As did Neelix's next words to Doctor Smith.

"Quite frankly, Doctor Smith, I'm not at all certain THAT you've maintained your sanity. Water in a situation that does not involve replicators is absolutely precious. If you actually used up the available water so you could look and smell good, then the Robinsons and Major West must be saints. Because I would have taken your voice box, at least. Mister Vulcan--he's all yours, and you can have him."

Smith was Smith.

"Welll--I NEVER!"

Neelix turned and nodded.

"That I believe. But then--I don't get around much anymore, myself. Keep your eye on this one, Tuvok. He's been looking this ship over like a Vidian in a morgue."

Tuvok, it could be said fairly, liked Neelix well enough to regard his safety and well-being as just as vital a concern as it was any other member of the senior staff. If the Talaxian annoyed him, it was in truth a mere outward statement of the annoyance he sometimes felt for all non-Vulcans aboard Voyager-and sometimes, being much younger, even the other Vulcans had occasion to upset him.

But he had grown to know where Neelix was likely to offer illogic, and make absurd statements. But while his harsh statements about Smith were emotional, they were also tinged with the coldest, harshest logic the cook had ever used.

"Are you making that statement as a member of the Voyager crew, Mister Neelix?"

"Nope. I'm making it as someone who used to be a user--just like him. This ship has seen its share of users, after all. We still have one or two, last I checked. But don't worry--I'm working on cutting that number in half--maybe literally."

With that, he stalked off, and Smith was shaking in his boots.

"What a frightful, horrid little man. Unpredictable, too, I'd wager."

Tuvok shook his head.

"You, Doctor Smith, would lose that wager. But in this instance, at least, I had not expected this."

The doors to Smith's quarters opened, and Tuvok saw that Neelix's assessment had not been that far off. Smith almost salivated, to look at the advanced cabin.

"A...trifle small, but it will have to do. I'm used to a much more deluxe manner of accommodations, you realize. Where, sir is your dining room?"

Tuvok was dealing with a mind obvious in its goals but not in its methods of pursuit of those goals. Add this fact to his lack of experience in dealing with Smith, and his lapse was understandable.

"The galley is off-limits to you, Doctor Smith. In fact, all of Voyager is off-limits to you. As The Captain said, you are confined to quarters. She takes these matters most seriously. As do I. You will have a guard posted outside your quarters, to ensure that you also take this punishment seriously."

Smith ran his finger to find dust on a table. There was none. This told him the ship had a superior filtration system, capable of moving airborne materials in and out very quickly. Or rather, an unconscious part of his brain took this in. On the surface and in his waking mind, the dust-check was exactly what it seemed, an affectation.

"Punishment, indeed, sir. Your lady Captain seems no Lady at all. She must cause quite the resentment, with so dismissive a manner." 

Stated as he stated it, the question seemed yet more idle banter. But again a part of Smith's brain was carefully checking the fences of his prison, and seeing how well the warden and her guards got on.

"Any resentment of Captain Janeway is passing, and submerged well beneath the innate respect both parts of this crew have for her."

Now Smith knew that this once had been a divided crew. Perhaps it could be again, under the right circumstances. But this nascent plan, wherever it was forming, was undone by a new arrival. A very young crewman, wearing a uniform like Tuvok's own, arrived. He had a ridge between his eyes, his nose seemed a bit upturned, and he sported a well-kept earring piece that suggested religious icon.

"Gerron reporting for duty as ordered, Lieutenant. Am I to personally guard this man?"

"No, Ensign. Merely keep a watch outside his quarters."

The unspoken part of Smith put carefully-formed words on his lips.

"Very good, Mister Tuvok. I shall ask Ensign Gerron to aid me when I am in need of assistance."

Tuvok remembered well the Robinsons' account of this man's nature, and came to a decision. 

"Ensign Gerron, you are dismissed. I will make other arrangements for this guest."

The young man stiffened up at that.

"Have I done something wrong, sir?"

Tuvok raised an eyebrow.

"Have I indicated such, Ensign? I observed that you often grow illogically anxious around myself and Lieutenant Paris. May I inquire as to why?"

The young man shrugged.

"Both you and Tom were hated by the Maquis crew, when all this started. But then there was Seska, Jonas--and even poor Suder, when we realized just how bad off he was. Tom fought in his way for the acceptance of both crews. You applied security fairly--whether Starfleet or Maquis, till there was only Voyager. Add to that, sir--you came back for me, when that training session went awry. I can't forget that. The Prophets won't let me."

Smith abandoned thoughts of a divided crew. This one probably had more cohesion than ones that began together. But that information, applied properly, could still be useful.

"Gerron--I ask you to end all idle speculation, and stick to doing your job--which has earned you both respect and a promotion from crewman. Dismissed."

The young man left, and Tuvok proceeded to make another mistake.

"Computer--do not let this man out of his quarters. See to it that he has no reason or excuse to do so. Give him anything he wishes, save direct access to ship's systems, or a way out of his quarters."

Smith completed the act.

"Sir--how can you restrict me in so cavalier a manner?"

"Were I Human, Doctor--I would do so with great relish. Since I am not, I merely am performing my duties as specified by Captain Janeway. Good Day, Doctor."

When he was gone, Smith smiled.

"Good day, indeed! Computer--please tell me all about the devices known as replicators. They sound--fascinating."

* * *

Will Robinson lay back in his quarters, utterly amazed at what they could do on this ship--and at having his own 100% private room for the first time in five years. He imagined that Don and Judy and his parents must be happy themselves. Then he thought of Penny.

"God--let her forgive me, one day."

Penny Robinson lay back in her quarters, and took in the delight of no sounds at all.

An actual door. Enough security to defeat at long last the notion of parental checks. Comfort that was grand, without being suspiciously ostentatious. The future, as it was supposed to look. She thought that this place might satisfy even Smith, and if it could, that meant that they all were happy. Except for Will, and she knew damned well why.

"God--just make him forgive me, ok? My folks--Don and Judy--they have their own lives. I have no use for Doctor Smith. I have one real friend--and he won't speak to me!"

She did not cry, though this was not for a lack of feeling like doing so.

* * *

In the galley, Be'lanna Torres was a trifle suspicious.

"Paris--does this favor of yours involve that game of 'Twister'? Because if it does, I swear..."

Tom shook his head.

"Trust me--it doesn't even involve us talking too much. The favor involves Penny and Will Robinson. They need our help."

This got Torres' attention.

"Are they in some kind of trouble? They seem like such good kids."

Paris nodded.

"They are. I don't know how to say this correctly, so I'll just say it bluntly. I see their current situation, if left unchecked, leading to OCC."

Culturally, both parts of Be'lanna Torres recoiled at Tom's suggestion.

"Outer Colony Companionship? Tom, that's one hell of a charge to make. I repeat, these are two good, smart kids. I just can't believe that you could be correct. And--even if you were--how could we help?"

Tom looked about, and then spoke a bit more softly.

"By showing them what the holodeck can really do. If we can at least sate their curiosity, then maybe they can hold out longer. Maybe that longer waiting means the difference between siblinghood and..."

"Don't say it. Alright? Just do not say it. My flesh is beginning to crawl as it is. My mother used to tell a story about two of Kahless' children, who were found...like that. He didn't doubt the sincerity of their feelings. But to restore honor, he had her destroy him--and then commit suicide. They were only granted passage to Stovokahr if they never gazed upon each other again. It was said that they then asked to be placed in Grethor. Kinda heavy on symbolism, isn't it?"

He lightly took her hand, and made it clear that this was only the gesture of a friend.

"I'll take Will. You help Penny. And Be'lanna--I really hope I'm dead wrong."

He got up and left, after that. Be'lanna cursed him under her breath.

"Cute when he's a jerk. Cuter when he's a do-gooder. Damn you all to hell, Tom Paris. Damn you all to hell. And when they send you---keep a seat for me."

* * *

In the hydroponics bay, Kes heard a compartment opening and closing.

"Hello?"

Looking around, she saw no one. But she saw a storage compartment opened, and went to close it again.

"Ok--this is strange----AAAGGHH!!!!"

There was a small doll of Kes herself inside the compartment. Except that she was wrinkled, and had gray hair. Attached was a note.

"Your scorn cannot compare to mine. When you go--do not return. I don't need you, either. You have my contempt, as well."

The note was unsigned, but she knew the handwriting. As her heart began to race, she finally gave in and pressed her commbadge.

"Kes to Tuvok. Kes One--to Tuvok. The Unspoken Subject by Futura has been read, somehow."

Tuvok wasted no time in getting to her. As it would turn out, the situation was far worse than any of the three who knew could have guessed.

* * *

Chakotay had almost finished grilling the longest-serving Maquis from his former ship. But he had not gotten the answers he sought.

"Commander--you knew Seska best, of any of us. I never trusted her. Course', I thought she was Bajor or Starfleet security. I never would have guessed a Cardie, let alone a member of The Obsidian Order, though the two kind of went hand-in-hand."

Chakotay had not heard this before.

"How so? How does one necessarily equal the other?"

"Well, sure some Cardie military intelligence units had altered spies, but while the Order did the changeover, they were clueless, until activated. But Seska--she knew all along. Only dyed-in-the-wool, blessed-by-Tain Order Agents kept their memories."

Chakotay was frustrated, to say the least.

"So she had no nicknames, or pet names, that you ever heard of?"

"Nope. Seska Marlis was all we ever got. It's all we ever will get. Ding-dong, and all that? Chakotay--let it go. What possible value could her real name have now?"

"I'm--just trying to find out, for myself."

The pipped-again Starfleet Officer walked away.

"No--what you're doing is making your former crew really glad it was Janeway became Captain. No disrespect meant-but Seska is playing you again--and she's not even here."

But Chakotay felt a chill from the realer world that lay behind the one we see. Though no Maquis knew it, he would have Seska's true name.

"The endless planning ends. No matter what I have to give up to do it, I'll have your true name, Seska. Then I will bury you for good."

For true names contained power, and Chakotay felt that slipping away from him.

* * *

In Sickbay, The Doctor nodded as Harry Kim entered.

"Mister Kim--you are three weeks early, but your physical----"

Harry cut him off.

"Can wait, Doc. Besides, I have a patient for you that's a lot more interesting than I could ever hope to be."

Kim gestured at the door, and through it came Robot B-9.

"Welll--what have we here?"

The EMH was fascinated by the mechanoid. He circled it, taking in its every centimeter.

"Normally, I'd say that I'm a Doctor, not a mechanic--but this is quite a piece of work. Why did you bring it, Ensign?"

The Robot responded.

"I am not 'It'. I am called Robot. Harry Kim, this individual is a holographic projection--not a real human being."

The EMH responded in typical fashion.

"Oh--so the tin can is calling me for unreal? My friend, I'll have you know that I posses untold reams of medical knowledge and expertise. I am also certain that I do my job better than an electronic ninny like yourself does yours."

"Forgive me, sir. You are indeed a Doctor, such as I have known."

"Then, apology accepted. Mister Kim, why is---he--here?"

Harry avoided telling the Doctor he had been zinged once again.

"Doc, Robot here possesses what I can only call a Soongian level of sentience. Maybe more. But we've checked him for a positronic brain, and found nothing remotely like it. The Robinsons all swear that he can do things that his hardware just shouldn't allow. We've failed to find any scientific reasons for this."

The EMH now understood.

"So now you're desperate, and want to find a medical one. Robot--may I check you for organic circuitry, or residue?"

The lighted panel on the Robot blinked as he spoke.

"Affirmative, Doctor. The paradox of my awakening has long strained my logic circuits. I would welcome an answer, or at least a chance to analyze your data."

The Doctor and Harry began to chuckle. The Robot was confused, till the reference was explained.

"His creator named him 'Data'? It must have been a very difficult construction process."

* * *

Captain Janeway went to fetch her favorite beverage.

"Coffee--Black."

She was not given her coffee.

"Unable To Comply. No replicator rations are available."

Janeway shook her head.

"You mean for me?"

"No. The entire month's supply of allocated replicator rations has been used, for the entire crew of USS Voyager."

Kathryn was incredulous.

"Computer--how were these rations used in so short a time?"

"These rations were used by a single individual, a guest aboard this ship, who is confined to quarters at present."

The Captain said one word.

"Smith."

In one heartbeat, Janeway headed at warp out of her private office.

In two heartbeats, she had summoned Tuvok.

In three heartbeats, Tuvok had summoned The Doctors Robinson.

In four heartbeats, they were in front of Smith's cabin. At this point, Captain Janeway's heart was beating very slowly, and she could hear every beat. Life with Doctor Smith tended to be like that.

"Major West? What are you doing here?"

Don smiled at Janeway.

"Captain--I was waiting for this to happen, and I wasn't gonna miss it for the all the tea in China."

Kathryn thought to object, but then realized that she had in fact been well warned about Doctor Smith.

"Tuvok, just keep me away from his throat."

The Vulcan nodded.

"If I must."

Then, Captain Kathryn Janeway opened the door to Smith's guest quarters, and did something very, very unlike her.

She screamed.

* * *

The EMH had studied every last chip, nook and cranny of Robot B-9. But there was not a trace of organic material, nor were there parts meant to simulate organic functions.

"Robot--you are a wonder. Could you list your programmers and creators for me?"

"Certainly, Doctor. You are most thorough and efficient."

The Robot gave the information he was asked for. The Doctor looked up all the names, and found that most of the scientists had counterparts in Voyager's own universe. But except for notable alternates like Houston Alpha Control Director Doctor Lillian Cochrane, none were of great interest. But for one, none at all possessed a Soongian level of cybernetic expertise, even allowing for universal drift.

"This Sam Beckett made amazing breakthroughs in AI for his time, but he required a mainframe, in both universes. In any event, he was only a consultant on your construction. Robot--may I alter my density, to better get a look inside you?"

"A rather intimate but reasonable solution to our problem, Doctor. But take warning--I am ticklish."

The EMH frowned.

"No, you're not."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you're not. You are a cybernetic mechanoid and can not reasonably posses such tactile....eeheheheheee!!"

The Robot's pincer had just brushed the Doctor's middle torso.

"Now, cut that out!"

The Doctor then altered his density, and promptly banged his head into the Robot's chest-plate.

"I thought you were to alter your density."

The EMH rubbed his head, despite common sense.

"I did--I did alter my density. The only time this ever happens is when I deal with fellow----"

Then and there, The Doctor knew the why, but still not the how, of Robot B-9's sentience. A stunned look settled on his face.

"Of course. It's so simple, even a child could have thought of it."

"Then tell me, sir. I am currently made up entirely of audio receptors."

* * *

Chakotay was a little bit bothered that he did not know the young Bajoran's name. He only knew that she was about the only Bajoran on board who had not been a member of his Maquis crew. Perhaps that was the reason that she had avoided him. But the frenzied XO cared little about that, right then.

"Crewman---I'm not here about anything you've done. But you knew people, in The Resistance, am I right?"

The petite girl-woman nodded.

"I once met Kira Nerys. She told me to shut up and everything. She's so cool."

"Uh-huh. What about Seska Marlis? Did you know her at all?"

"Oh, yah. Mainly I avoided her."

"Why did you avoid her?"

"Because I didn't want to get on the bad side of your former command, sir. Things were tense enough, at the beginning."

Chakotay barely hid his exasperation with the lower decks crewmember. He noted that she should probably never be taken on an away mission.

"What precisely would have put you on the bad side of--those who until recently, called themselves Maquis?"

"Oh, ya know. The rumors about Seska Marlis."

"That she was my lover?"

"Oh, no-sure everybody knew that."

Chakotay now found less regret over his and Kathryn's recent decision.

"That she was a spy of some kind?"

"No--that nice Mister Suder vouched for her, in that regard. Nice, quiet, fella. Where's he been at, lately?"

Chakotay knew forms of mental discipline from several worlds, and at this moment, he was using them all.

"Then--what rumors had you heard?"

"That Seska Marlis had been falsely tagged as a collaborator, and killed by The Resistance. Then, they found out the whole label was an Obsidian Order smear. But when she turned up alive, here, I just figured those rumors were all wrong, plus which she still scared the Orbs out of me. So I let her be her, and me be me."

Chakotay reasoned out the rest. The Resistance, thinking that the true Seska Marlis was a traitor, dumped her body without proper burial. The Obsidian Order grabbed it up, and studied her to reconstruct the woman who would replace her. Then, the smear was uncovered--just in time for the 'new' Seska to emerge. Likely those who had executed the true Seska were ashamed and embarrassed, and of no mind to prove or disprove her claim.

But the Occupation ended, making the Maquis a new prime target for infiltration. As had been said, people asked few questions in the Maquis, especially about Bajorans.

"Thank you, crewman. Your help has been invaluable."

"Commander--a question?"

"Of course?"

"Just how the hey is Seska doin'? I haven't seen her much lately, doncha know."

Chakotay felt his brain shutting down.

"She and Mister Jonas got married."

"Ohhh--betcha they make a cute couple!"

With more knowledge than he had, Chakotay prepared to leave the lower decks behind. He spoke to one more crewman about the Bajoran.

"Is she really that dense, or was she just playing with me?"

The man shrugged.

"Sad to say, Commander-but I think she is completely clueless. By the way, can I ask you a question?"

"Go right ahead?"

"When do we stop at the next starbase? I really need some Shore Leave."

Chakotay waited for the man to say that he was just joking. That moment never came. The XO walked away, rubbing his head. The crewman mumbled after him.

"O--k. Be a jerk. I'll just ask Captain Riker myself!"

* * *

Despite the unspoken tension between them, Penny and Will Robinson sat at the same table. Will was working on a computer-generated crossword puzzle. Penny was helping him as she could.

"Starts with B, six letters, a fundamental that you get back to."

"Basics?"

"That works. Starts with C, nine letters, a kind of overseer."

"Uhhmm...Caretaker."

"Great. Desert arachnid, eight letters."

"Scorpion. What's next?"

"Brave, knowing no fear. Starts with D..."

"Dauntless. Will, can we talk about it? I hate you hating me."

Her younger brother did not look up.

"Equal parts night and day, from the Latin........I don't hate you. You hate me."

Penny shook her head.

"No, I don't. Why would I be upset with you? I'm the one that made the suggestion. I'm the one who--got carried away."

Will almost couldn't look at her.

"I'm the one who really got into it. Maybe--we should talk to the ship's doctor. If Captain Janeway feels he can help Doctor Smith, then we should be a snap."

"I never meant to hurt you, Will."

He smiled.

"You didn't. You just confused the hell out of me."

She smiled.

"And me. Ok--we talk to The Doctor--and hope it was alien possession or something."

Tom Paris and Be'lanna Torres walked in, and saw the siblings laughing together.

"See--Tom, they're alright. They don't need us. End of intervention."

Paris deepened his voice.

"Is this daughter of Dread Kahless a coward?"

She nodded strongly.

"Yes. Yes, I Am!"

But Tom pointed, and they bravely sat down to talk with the kids--and hopefully avert a nightmare in the making.

* * *

And when Janeway stopped screaming, she took in what she saw in Smith's quarters.

There were numerous discarded food trays. Mattresses and blankets galore. All manner of baubles littered the floor. Diamonds, Rubies, Emeralds. Add to that, there were endless little sticks with cotton swabs on the end. Plus, there was one Doctor of indignant bent.

"Madam--you're sudden screaming awoke me from my beauty sleep. I demand an apology. Is invading their privacy how you treat your guests? How would you have felt had you burst in upon me whilst I enjoyed the company of one of your female crewmembers?"

Janeway looked up from the floor. Tuvok and Don West backed off. Neither liked nor cared for Smith. But the look on the Captain's face suggested a level of red rage that no one wanted to get hit with accidentally.

"If any of my crew had been moronic enough to give you their company, I would have had them summarily court-martialed. But since that will never happen, lets you and I get down to brass tacks, hmmm?"

Smith was not only crewless, companion-wise, but clueless, danger-wise.

"Let us indeed, Madam Captain. I have an urgent matter I wish to settle. These guest quarters are uncomfortably cramped. If you are truly a gracious host, you will allow me the use of your own quarters for the duration of my stay."

Kathryn's eyes went wide. She looked plaintively at a pained John Robinson. Maureen nodded, as if to confirm that this scene was no mere prank. So then The Captain just laughed.

"Everyone--please step outside these quarters. That means you too, Smith."

"Doctor Smith, Madam. Address me by my title, or not at all."

Janeway grinned, and from this Don West knew something good was brewing.

"Alright---DOCTOR!!!"

She turned, and looked back inside the room that had probably cost some crewmembers their recreation time.

"Computer---Recycle every last item in the guest quarters of Doctor Zachary Smith. Right down to the carpeting."

"Noooo!! You can't do that!"

West grabbed his nemesis.

"Watch her, Smith. I know I'm going to. And I'm going to enjoy it soooo much!"

The room was reclaimed by the matter replication circuitry, and was now bare. Smith cried.

"Noooo---all my things! All my lovely, lovely things!"

Janeway having had enough, pushed Smith against the wall.

"Now, you listen up, you mealy-mouthed megalomaniacal moocher! You, in one fell swoop, managed to use up ALL the replicator rations set up for my ENTIRE crew for an ENTIRE month! Do you know or have the slightest clue what kind of reserves it takes to create a solid diamond? You--you littered the floor with them. Computer--how much of our rations were recovered?"

"Approximately 81 percent."

West pointed.

"The rest is in Smith's stomach, no doubt."

John Robinson looked at his stowaway with a new level of disgust.

"Captain Janeway, I will gladly offer up all of Doctor Smith's personal possessions, if they will help refill your replicators."

Maureen agreed, and threw in more.

"Be happy our beliefs don't permit you to be recycled, Doctor Smith. You've finally broken the back of our Christian charity."

"But-but all my things! How will I ever endure?" 

Maureen shook her head.

"As we agreed you would, if you pulled even one more stunt."

John nodded.

"We're going to have an extra cryo-tube added, Smith. And it's in there that you'll spend the rest of our voyage."

Somewhere in Smith's brain, a switch turned on briefly. He lunged at John.

"I will not permit you to interfere any longer with my plans for getting back to Earth!"

Smith had surprising speed. His hands were soon around the throats of both John and Maureen. But Tuvok's hand merely touched the side of Smith's throat, and he collapsed. Janeway, seeing that the Robinsons were alright, if shaken, called out.

"Computer--transport Doctor Smith directly to the brig, pending a psychiatric analysis by the EMH. Erect a Level 8 force field on all sides. Tuvok?"

"Yes, Captain?"

"Work on a program that would truly lock Smith out of all ships systems, except for water and lavatories--and make sure he can't abuse those, either. Doctors, any objections?"

John was still rubbing his throat. Maureen was in a bit of shock.

"None--hack--Captain. None at all."

Judy Robinson walked up, and with her was Ensign Samantha Wildman. Judy was holding the now-toddling Naomi. At a nod from her, Don moved to her side. It was now or never.

"Mom--Dad? Guess what Samantha and I have in common?"

John's eyes glazed over.

"You're both blonde?"

* * *

A Kes who was now seeing the stalking Neelix around every corner gladly entered her quarters, and locked the door. Taking out a tricorder she had recycled and checked in hydroponics, she scanned for intruders, booby-traps, and about seventeen other things. She found not one of them.

"Computer, any messages? That is, do I have any messages that are not from Neelix?"

"You have one message, sender unknown. As per request, it has been scanned for obscenities. None found. Tonal check indicates no negatively charged wording, as well."

Kes sat down, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Play it."

The voice was that of Tom Paris, to be certain. But it sounded stilted, and stiff somehow.

"Saw that you were feeling down. Some selections from The Paris Audio Collection should cheer you up. Enjoy--I know I will."

She smiled. Tom's taste in music was strange, but even The Doctor and Tuvok conceded he knew what might be appropriate. Poor Suder even found it soothing, rest his frenzied soul.

"Computer--play first audio selection."

"Complying."

The song was indeed calming--at first.

"There Is Someone--Walking Behind You-- Turn Around--Look At Me -- There Is Someone--Watching Your Footsteps--Turn Around--Look At Me....."

Kes felt her eyes go wide.

"Computer--next selection."

"Every Breath You Take; Every Move You Make; Every Claim You Stake;"

The music briefly shifted louder.

"EVERY VOW YOU BREAK, I'LL BE WATCHING YOU--Oh, Can't You See - You Belong To Me--"

Kes hoped she was wrong, just then.

"Computer, Next selection."

"One Way--Or Another, I'm Gonna Find You---I'm Gonna Get Ya Get Ya Get  
Ya Get Ya Get Ya Get Ya---"

"Next selection."

"You Can Shake An Apple Off An Apple Tree--Shake It Shake It Sugar, But You'll Never Shake Me.....Hide In The Kitchen, Hide In The Hall, Ain't Gonna Do You No Good At All..."

"Computer-Next selection!"

"I Held Her Close; I Kissed Her Our Last Kiss---"

"Next Selection!"

"I Am The Eye In The Sky; Looking At You; I Can Read Your Mind..."

"Next!"

"I'm Looking Through You; Thought You Should Know; I Thought I Knew You; What Did I Know?"

"NEXT!!!!"

"My-My-My Delilah! Why-Why-Why- -Delilah? She Stood There Laughing--Till I Felt The Knife In My Hand--And She Laughed No More!"

She knew, then.

"Computer, cease playing!"

"Unable To Comply."

Kes's eyes glowed briefly.

"MAKE yourself able to comply!"

"Selections negated."

Kes looked up.

"Smart Girl."

She then stormed out of her quarters, to let a certain galley-dwelling Talaxian have it with both barrels.

* * *

Tom and Be'lanna sat with Will and Penny Robinson. Penny questioned their offer of only moments ago.

"What would we do on this holodeck, exactly?"

Paris spoke for a still-nervous Torres.

"Well, Be'lanna and I both experienced colony life--and it gets kinda lonely. Hard to find dates. Certainly that applies to you two--no offense meant."

Will now spoke up.

"None taken. So we can take these holodeck characters out on dates? I don't know if we're gonna be here that long. Kind of makes it hard to get things started."

Torres refused to let Paris carry the whole thing himself.

"Well--Will--you wouldn't exactly have to go through the formalities of dating, with these characters. I guess I'm saying--that they'll do whatever you want them to."

Penny sat up, her heart thumping.

"Whatever we want--as in whatever we want?"

Tom nodded.

"You say it--they'll not only do it, but you can alter every single aspect of the program. You want to--date--while the characters' parents aren't home--or while they are? It's done."

Will gulped. A dream so far away now seemed so very close at hand.

"What about things like clothing, and --height?" 

The need she saw in the siblings' eyes made Be'lanna glad that Paris had talked her into this intervention.

"Everything is optional--except using crew members' images. That's right out."

Penny asked a question that she knew was Will's too.

"Do our parents have to be informed?"

But Will interrupted.

"Penny--c'mon. I for one, at least want to try this out. It'll be good--for both of us."

She glared.

"What's THAT supposed to mean?"

He shrugged.

"That it'll be good for both of us. You don't always have to interpret everything I say!"

"Oh, don't I? Nowadays, everything you say has a double meaning. It's not like it used to be with us. You always used to tell me exactly what you meant."

Will rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I don't say things as bluntly as I used to. But nowadays, you fly off the handle about every little thing."

Penny slammed down her fist.

"MAYBE if you talked to me more often, and didn't spend so much time puttering in your room on new inventions, I'd feel less neglected."

Will nodded, angrily.

"YOU have been so tongue-tied lately, I do all the talking. This isn't a one-way street, Penny. You need to do something on your end, to help make it all work."

A now-nauseous Be'lanna and Tom sent the dueling duo off to their respective reserved holodecks. The children glared at one another as they left. Torres asked a question.

"Tom--that argument they just had. That was a sibling-type argument, right?"

Paris lied through his teeth.

"Sure it was. Sister and Brother, older and younger--boy and girl---sister and brother. Yeah--siblings."

They got up, and saw Harry Kim eating. He motioned to them.

"Hey, guys. Who was that arguing over there? I didn't recognize the voices."

Be'lanna shrugged.

"It was just Will and Penny Robinson, Harry. Sibs--you know."

Kim nodded.

"Sure do. But it's the funniest thing. They didn't sound like a brother and sister arguing."

Tom wilted.

"They didn't?"

"Nope. Until you told me, I would have thought it was an old married couple!"

* * *

In their guest quarters, John Robinson sat and prayed with his beloved wife, Maureen.

"Lord, I firmly believe what you taught--that every life is a life, and has value. You know that until people's private homes and families were targeted, we two were firm believers in Operation: Rescue. Being believers cost us scientist friends, and being scientists cost us our Church memberships. But I've always tried to hold true about life."

Maureen continued.

"So we humbly ask your forgiveness and seek your aid as we tell our beloved daughter Judy and dear friend Don--that we must abandon our beliefs for the sake of our mission. For the Jupiter 2 to survive--she must not have that baby."

* * *

The Robot left to fetch Doctor Smith for analysis by the EMH. The Doctor checked and rechecked his findings on The Robot.

"Medical Log---this is just not possible!"

* * *

Chakotay buzzed the door to his Captain's cabin.

"Yes, Commander?"

"Captain. I've news to report about Seska Marlis."

Janeway frowned. She had hoped his obsession was done with.

"What is your news?"

He smiled.

"She has been dead for almost a full year. End of report."

In both their eyes, something though well-hidden, non-existent, or perhaps extinguished flared to sudden life. Kathryn grabbed her XO by the tunic, and playfully pulled him inside her quarters.

"Seska may be dead--but I'm not!"

That night, neither of them were.

* * *

Smith sat in the brig, and was unconcerned about the psychiatric capabilities of The EMH.

"Feh! Psychologists are ever the easiest sort to manipulate. I can always walk right through them!"

* * *

Kes moved through the halls of Voyager, fueled by the sense of betrayal that only broken love can bring about. In many respects it was a story older than that of The Hidden Prince. Boy had met girl; both had prospered well in the love that followed; then that love had come to an end. Yet on Voyager, the story of The Hidden Prince had involved Harry nearly being eaten by glad-handing female aliens. So the boy-girl-split was bound to be even more complicated and vicious.

It hadn't merely been his behavior in the crisis with the specter of that dead warlord. She had tried like hell to tell him that. If anything, it had been more the cowardice he initially showed towards potentially being a father than any lack of bravado facing a walking spirit-form. Yet she hadn't told him that. No, Kes had tried to be gentle with Neelix. She had been thrown off by the tears he shed, regarding them as emotional blackmail. She then gave up on trying to explain the simple desire every sentient approaching their prime has to seek out pleasure and experience.

As she approached the doors to what was once Kathryn Janeway's private dining room, Kes thought of how she had once found his tendency to do things without consultation endearing. Yet when the Captain wanted a private dinner, or when Chakotay thought of how the Kazon didn't need to be antagonized early on, or when Be'lanna did repairs that had their origins in one of Neelix's many bargains, Kes doubted that quality seemed so very wonderful.

"Am I trying to build up my hate?"

He was behind his counter, the very picture of false innocence. He had a knowing smile plastered on, and she wondered whether it had ever been sincere, even once.

"No. This is Neelix."

Whatever had passed between them, there had once been love, and there would certainly always be deep affection. She stopped, gathered herself, and approached the counter that was once another home to her. It would all be made right, somehow. This theory, however, flew out the hatch when pasta in a thick white sauce was casually--or perhaps causally--flung onto Kes, while a 'startled' Neelix chuckled.

"Well, think of it this way, Kes. With your attitude towards fidelity, it's really the only time you'll ever be wearing white!"

Kes turned, and looked at the crew who were eating their lunch.

"Would everyone please leave?"

Mister Carey put down his fork.

"Kes, you have got to be kidding!"

With more restraint than sense, Kes gestured at the transparent aluminum windows, and they began to vibrate. The crew cleared out fast. Using her latent abilities was always taxing, and doubly so when she kept them in such tight check. Since the visit of the Second Caretaker, her power had grown. What very few knew, except for Tuvok and Captain Janeway was how soundly Kes had beaten both her fellow Occampan and the vengeful entity. But in this case, she had what she wanted, so she continued on. Neelix slammed back against the wall. But the Talaxian's grin never faded.

"Ooooh...bloodied my nose. To say nothing of what it did to yours!"

As Kes tasted salt, she realized her nose was streaming blood, and started to feel faint.

"Neelix? Why won't you leave me alone?"

"Why, my dear. I'm as innocent as anyone can be on this ship. I have no idea what you're talking about. Are you going insane?"

Tuvok and a contingent of security guards came in, guided by a shaken Carey, who was pointing at Kes, not Neelix. The Talaxian was playing his position for all it was worth.

"Please be gentle with Kes, fellows. She's been like this since I broke it off with her, poor thing."

Taken under the shoulder by Tuvok, the barely-conscious Kes helped complete the phony picture he had painted.

"Don't listen to him! I'm the one who ended our relationship!"

Neelix appeared to frown, but Kes knew better.

"Why--yes. So you were. Mmmm. Right again, Kes."

She tried to grab at him, and fainted as she did.

-------------------

She awoke in her own quarters, her wounds already treated. Bitterly, she felt that this was done to keep the apparently insane woman calm. Tuvok looked somewhat sympathetic. Janeway looked much less so, and spoke the mind behind the face she now showed.

"I'd like to know just what the hell you were doing, threatening my crew. Our friends. Someone you supposedly care about. This isn't like you, Kes. So I'm really hoping for an answer that sweeps this all away."

Sympathy or no, Tuvok added in.

"The use of your parabilities also throws your judgment into serious question, Kes. You know very well the price that they exact upon your physiology."

Janeway leaned forward, unnervingly close.

"Are you really Kes? I mean, are you our Kes? From our timeline?"

Kes was ready to weep.

"I'm not that old hag, Captain. But while we're on her--Neelix knows. He knows, and he told me so in no uncertain terms."

The Captain quickly shook her head.

"Impossible. Only we three know what really happened that day, and what will happen, three years from now. It's not been committed to any file. In short, he can't know what he cannot know. Kes I know the break-up was not amicable."

"I thought it was! I thought that he understood! But Captain--Tuvok--he hates me and is harassing me. He's stalking me like I was some piece of wild game that scarred his face. I've gotten threatening messages, had my quarters broken into, found all manner of booby traps...."

Tuvok cut her off.

"All of which we have checked into, as you made your complaints. But we found no evidence of their having happened or Mister Neelix's involvement. It is difficult to imagine him being at the center of such an endeavor, in any event."

Kes shook her head.

"Maybe--maybe he altered the records, to hide what he did."

Janeway shook her opened hand in front of her.

"Neelix is at his core still amazed by our replicators. Wholesale or even retail alteration of our most basic safeguards is quite beyond him, I should think. Besides, it's like Tuvok said--we are talking about Neelix."

Kes tried another tack.

"Captain, I was wrong to threaten people, and I do apologize for doing so. But what I am going through is quite real. I'm not the crazy one. Neelix is. He's not a clown that plays with Leola. He's a man who's hurt, and people who are spurned can do absolutely frightening things in the name of a love that is no more. Please don't dismiss him or me, out of hand."

Janeway looked down. Clearly, she was conflicted in this matter, where so much made sense and yet nothing really did.

"You say he's stalking you. Well, let's say you're right. What if I switch your schedules? The time you'd normally spend off duty, you spend in hydroponics. Hydroponics' time, you spend in Sickbay, and the other time, you'd stay in your quarters--which I'm afraid I'll have to confine you to, when you're not at your duties. Is that acceptable? Tuvok?"

The security chief nodded.

"If we are wrong, and Kes is being harassed by Mister Neelix, then this solution is ideal. Traditionally, so-called 'stalkers' depend on an intimate knowledge of their target's habits and movements. Disrupting that schedule should at least make his task more difficult."

Kes nodded as well.

"Thank you, both. I just wish I had proof to give you."

The Captain shook her head.

"I honestly hope there's no proof to get. This is almost like the rising of the Anti-Neelix."

To which Kes silently agreed. But she also just as silently tried to think of another layer of protection she could place between herself and a threat she knew to be quite real. And she would need this.


	5. Chapter Four Analysis And Commentary

**Chapter Four - Analysis And Commentary**

The Robinson siblings stood outside their respective holodeck doors. Despite their earlier argument, they sought each other's strength.

"Penny? Do you think what we're about to do is a sin?"

She shook her head, nervous but excited.

"I can't see how. I mean, they're not real people. Just relax, Will. I never thought I'd be the 'get it over with' type. But I'm Eighteen, and I've never even been caught by Mom or Dad doing--anything! This could be our last chance to find out what it's like."

Will nodded, glad that she would be relatively nearby--and glad that his sister would be happy.

"Good luck, Penny. I really mean that."

"That's just it, Will. We don't need luck. They'll do whatever we say. Be--however and whoever we want them to be. But thank you."

Penny entered her deck. Inside was a loft. No dust. Cool but dry. Huge picture windows. Plush carpeting, but not garishly deep. The moon was full and very large in the sky. One set of couches formed an island in the living area. The TV was 50 inches. The music was soft, and romantic.

"Computer---change music to Classic Rock."

After a few clarification queries, the strains of 'Layla' began to be heard, audibly, but not over loudly.

A voice now was heard.

"You must be Penny. I'm David. I'll have dinner ready in a moment. Listen, there's a Chaucer Troupe on PBS, if you like."

The computer had not failed her. The man worked out, but didn't look like he obsessed over it. And he could cook, and he liked Chaucer. Giddy with hormones and power, Penny froze the program.

"3 inches taller--and blonde."

"Hair--spiked a bit. Nothing wild."

Every so often, she would strike again.

"Make him--a redhead."

It did, and she almost pounced on him.

"Red hair---just like----"

Her heart almost seized.

"Computer--back to blonde. No more--I repeat NO MORE redheads."

When he burped, she deleted the burps. He yielded up the TV's remote control entirely. The kitchen was immaculate, and a bevy of beautiful women on TV didn't interest him--only Penny did.

* * *

Will entered his deck. It was a large swimming pool in the backyard of someone's home. At first, it was too realistic.

"Why don't you go on home, little boy?"

But if anything, Will was more adept at handling this situation than his sister.

"Computer--delete all potential bullies, and like personalities."

In the pool itself, five boys who were about to 'whirlpool' a girl merely vanished. That alone told Will that more polishing would be in order. He was not ready for how rough and tumble these parties could really be. Nor just how realistic the sim could be made. A grown man came out.

"You kids! The first time I have to tell you to be quiet is also the last time! You got me?"

Will said something with a relish that surprised him.

"Computer--delete parents and/or chaperones."

Will's ears were then pierced by a whistle.

"If I see so much as a shoulder-strap slide down, this pool is closed!"

Wondering where the lifeguard came from in a private home, Will reasoned that Tom Paris must have thrown it together in a hurry.

"Computer--delete lifeguard. Initiate safeties to make sure no one drowns, or is harmed."

Will then decided to choose his girl, and find a private spot. But all were spoken for.

"Computer--why is there no girl for me? That's why Tom made this program, right?"

"According to social timeframes provided, pairings occurred quickly at the described events."

At that, something snapped inside Will.

"Oh no--you don't."

He began small.

"Delete all male characters."

As they vanished, a girl walked up.

"Hey! This is a girls' only party, pal!"

"Delete objection to my presence."

"Have a good swim."

She walked off, and Will spotted something else anomalous for a private home. He walked into a full separate changing area on a group of showering girls.

"Pervert! Get out of..."

He now spoke through gritted teeth.

"Delete Modesty parameters."

"Bathroom's down the way. Sodas in the fridge."

Seething that a computer program meant to provide him with a simple thing was challenging him at every turn, Will gave in to what he thought he wanted.

"Computer--Render pool water clear. Germ-free, but no chlorine."

The girls, all 15, all witty, charming, and attractive, cavorted and played. But Will wasn't through. The power had gone straight to his head.

"Computer--delete female bathing attire, towels--if they can cover themselves with it, unless it's their hands or such--delete it!"

He then jumped in, and saw beauty all around him, and they thought nothing of his presence, and wanted only to attend his every need.

* * *

An hour later, brother and sister emerged from their holodecks with frowns on their faces.

"You?"

"No. You?"

Will nodded.

"I couldn't go through with it either."

Penny stared back at the hyperfect man and his hyperfect house. Will deleted a 15-year old boy's fantasy. Together, they spoke.

"We better talk to that Doctor."

* * *

But The Doctor, The EMH, was occupied analyzing one of the other guests from the Jupiter 2.

"So you see, sir. Major West threatened to strangle me on 17 occasions. The Doctors Robinson threatened to banish me on 20 occasions. Even the dear, sweet children lectured me in a vile, untoward manner on countless occasions."

The EMH raised an eyebrow.

"I see. Doctor Smith--may we move on to the second month of your voyage?"

* * *

Medical Log, Emergency Medical Hologram Mark One, Acting CMO, USS Voyager, Delta Quadrant

When I was activated, I asked Captain Janeway what I always ask.

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

She held a disk for me, while Mister Tuvok held a phaser at a nervous-looking human male of middle age. At the time, I actually thought this overkill. Silly me.

"Doctor, we need you to analyze this man, using your psychological database. I realize that it's not as extensive as your medical one. But barring a Counselor, it'll have to do."

An odd thought struck me then. Had poor Suder ever managed to complete his rehabilitation, he would have made an excellent Counselor. No one would allow themselves to have problems, just for fear of seeing him. This oddity was interrupted by the man in question; whom I rapidly learned was named Doctor Zachary Smith.

"Madame--Doctor Zachary Smith needs no such analyses! I am the very picture of mental health! I am Doctor Zachary Smith!"

Like I said, I rapidly learned his name. I wish deleting it were nearly as easy. I may have Ms. Torres put in a subroutine, for just such an emergency.

"As one Doctor to another, Doctor, trust me--you're in good hands."

I had chosen to attempt to placate his fears by posing as a potential friend. I really, really, really wish I hadn't done this.

"Ohhh, I hope so, Doctor. I have been in the wrong hands on sooo very many occasions. I am as an inn-o-cent adrift in a hostile sea, into which I was never meant to venture forth."

Just outside Sickbay, I gave the Captain my initial opinion of Doctor Smith.

"Would you please tell Mister Paris and Miss Torres to restrict their practical joking to the verbal? And for you, Captain, to be in on such a prank frankly..."

"Doctor--he is very much for real. Although I understand why you might feel otherwise. Just give us the best picture of him you can."

Oddly, later on, Mister Paris suggested showing Doctor Smith some of my pictures. I couldn't for the life of me figure out why. Before they left, Tuvok spoke with me.

"Doctor--I know several Vulcan calming techniques. You may find later on that you have use for them."

Truer words. I went in, and began my session on a high note.

"Just what The HELL do you think you're doing to my console?!"

In a remarkably short time, this genius of destruction had torn my console to pieces, and come dangerously close to accessing my program. Non-holos have no way of imagining that feeling. He had an explanation that, to him, must have sounded adequate.

"It is hardly my fault, sir! Your equipment is obviously of a shoddy construction. I suspect it was built by the lowest bidder. That is how these things are done, you know, in our money-grubbing society."

"We don't have low bidders, Doctor Smith. Our 24th Century society is free from economic strife."

I have been accused of stridency by those who have never truly encountered the attitude. Trust me when I say that I have encountered true stridency.

"Then you have removed all striving within mankind, Doc-tor! The sole advancement of one's own interests benefits all. At least in the long term. For some."

He then struck home his telling point, by striking the console. I began to fade, but my program stabilized. Doctor Smith was revealing more of himself here than he would in our hours-long chat upcoming.

"Oh...my! What manner of creature are you?"

"I'm a hologram, still learning his way in interacting with non-holograms. My social skills are therefore sorely lacking. Whatever is your excuse?"

I eventually found a method of keeping Doctor Smith from touching anything.

"What is this infernal thing? I cannot move more than 3 feet in any direction."

"We call it a Level 10 Force field."

"But Captain Janeway only put a Level 8 around my cell."

"I'm not Captain Janeway."

After the whining stopped, it restarted. After that, he told me his version of events aboard The Jupiter 2, those past five years. Thanks to Mister Paris, I now have the knowledge necessary to translate these sort of conversations.

"So it was that my supreme, unselfish conscientiousness cost me my home planet. If I had not done that one last check--had I not put my appointed task ahead of my own concerns--we would not be here chatting, today."

Translation: He snuck aboard the Jupiter 2, intending some manner of unknown mischief, and was stuck in the middle of it when the ship took off.

"From the beginning, my contributions were unappreciated. Only the dear children understood how the journey drained me so, and aided me in my attempts to better our condition. But no longer, as they have been poisoned against me."

Translation: They knew what he was from the start, but the kids put up with him, and for their troubles sometimes got bamboozled into one of his schemes. They now appear to have wised up.

"A minor pulling of weeds, and these hid-eous beings saw fit to try and transform us all into plant life."

Translation: Do not send Zachary Smith on First Contact or away missions.

"The Wish Machine could grant anything to anyone. But John Robinson's lesser mentality feared its true potential, and it was lost to us."

Translation: Fearing that it would turn his entire family into greedy cowards like Smith, Doctor Robinson wisely got rid of this machine.

"The moral deterioration has been horrid. Young William and Penelope I have actually overheard discussing the most efficient methods of---self-pleasuring."

Translation: The Robinson siblings are normal human teenagers who are making the best of their isolation, and who should learn to check if any snooping ears can hear them.

"We are forever stopping here and there, doing--exploration, instead of concentrating our efforts in a sensible manner--and going home."

Translation: John, meet Kathryn. Kathryn, meet John. Zachary, meet confinement--in a rubber cryo tube.

"Were it not for me, this would have been a much different voyage."

I'm not touching that one.

"John Robinson is a man blinded by a foolish and narrow idealism."

Translation: He's a better man than me, and I resent him for it.

"Maureen Robinson is a harsh mistress. Obsessed with cleanliness to an insane degree."

Translation: She asked me to do a few simple chores, to earn my keep. Likely Smith doesn't do them, either.

"Major West is a vile thug who sees me engaging in endless conspiracies that exist only in his sorry excuse for a mind."

Translation: West has always kept his eye on me, and never had any delusions about what I am.

"Judith is mine, once I've disposed of the others. Oh, my. Did I say that or think that?"

Translation: Doctor Zachary Smith is a scheming busybody who is also a craven, lazy coward. He is a habitual, perpetual unconscious liar--with a rather nasty secret that I will have to analyze further before speaking to either the Captain or The Doctors Robinson.

"Doctor? Am I free to move about the ship?"

The level of his incomprehension had me calling upon Mister Tuvok's calming methods.  
This was after I beamed Doctor Smith back to the brig, pending his total lock-out from ship's systems, and after two troubled young people came to see me. Will and Penny sat before me, and I happily needed no translator. But what we spoke of belongs in another log.

Boy, does it belong in another log.

* * *

Judy gave Naomi back to Samantha, and imagined what holding her own child would be like. Back in the quarters that she and Don shared, though, that was being brought into question. Don was fuming. John and Maureen seemed oddly resolved.

"Go on, John. You want this done--you tell your daughter. Cause I'm not. And I do not consider it a command decision! So stuff confinement--sir."

"Dad--Mom--what's going on?"

Judy Robinson's earliest memories of her parents concerned protest marches against what some saw as blood-simple murder and others as the final test of true democracy and freedom. They had left the more strident groups when the bombings and blockades began and the more mainstream groups when they failed to condemn these tactics strongly enough. But their own beliefs about life had never wavered, and while they were not proselytizers, you never encountered more coherent defenders of when that life begins.

So understandably, Judy wondered about her sanity when Maureen next spoke.

"Judy--your father and I think that you should have an abortion."

For kids, there is always a day the world stops making any sense. For the Twenty-One-year old Judy, that day had now occurred. To be fair, she at least tried to be rational, and keep in mind the deep love and respect she had for her parents. But it had never been made more difficult to do so simple a thing. What they asked of her was not something she had ever expected to hear.

"Why--do you not want me to have this baby? You knew that Don and I were together. We'll marry, if that's a problem."

John Robinson, Mission Commander, was forced to push aside the other John Robinsons. The scientist, anxious to study the first Earth child born in space. The Minister, who held all life sacred, a fact which had benefited Zachary Smith on many, many occasions. The Father, so anxious to watch his family mature and grow. As Kathryn Janeway could attest, there are things a CO must do that sometimes make all moral belief seem a mere luxury. One such time was then.

"Judy---if you two want to marry, that's fine. But you cannot have that baby. And in the future---I'll ask that you two use several methods of protection. Perhaps while we're here, this EMH can perform a reversible..."

The young woman had her eyes closed. She remembered and recited certain words.

"Young lady, you're making a mistake. However that child was conceived, its rights are as fundamental as your own. Unless you are nearly 100% certain that having it will cause your death, then you have no right to cause its death. Give it up, if you must. But don't flush it away."

Judy opened her eyes, and looked at John.

"Remember those words, Daddy? You never shouted 'murderer' at those young women, outside those hateful clinics. But you told them what we felt they were doing. Some of them even turned away. The paint-throwers and lung-shouters never understood what you did: That gentleness, not carnage, turned away wrath. That's why they forced you both out. That and your consistent respect for the mother's own life. There were many hypocrites, both inside and outside those clinics. And there were a handful of people, making a well-thought out moral stand. Until now, I thought that you two were firmly among them. But maybe I should have placed you among the bombers and those who practiced outright infanticide, in some cases."

Maureen's face grew arch.

"Judy, it was all infanticide. That was why we were out there."

The eldest daughter's fury was not abated in the slightest. Don remained silent, knowing that his own temper could be of no help, especially when his own family history ran counter to nearly every belief held by the Robinsons.

"Mom---was it all infanticide? Or are you both like what the Planned Parenthood people always said? Anti-abortion--till it's your daughter becomes pregnant? I used to think they were just self-deluded hypocrites. Maybe they were--but I now see very clearly that they had company."

The slap Maureen then placed across her face stunned Judy. But not into immobility.

Judy grabbed her mother's hand, and held it in a painfully tight grip.

"If---IF you ever touch me like that again, I better have fallen off the wagon, or have sold Penny and Will for gambling debts! Otherwise----"

Judy pushed Maureen away.

"---don't even DREAM about it. My childhood is WAY over!"

Now, Don did speak.

"And I'm of a mind to make that a four-way throe down."

John was steadfast, though.

"Major--you are so far out of line, that only our friendship is keeping me from busting you in rank!"

Don laughed out loud.

"I'M out of line? Right now, I'm not even sure that you're John Robinson. Cause' I can't see him--or his wife. All I see are two people issuing very loathsome orders and making no sense while they do."

Maureen realized that she'd been wrong to slap Judy. But her pride of place had been sorely wounded by being shoved away. So Don's words cut her to the quick.

"You want sense, Don? Alright, try this on for size. We live in a tin dome. A few feet of aluminum keeps the air in. Our food is always being stretched to the limit. All of our resources are. We are frequently targeted by alien species that almost invariably begin by going after the most vulnerable of us. We live in storage bays that were never meant to be used as rooms. And each day, I watch as my two younger children die inside of loneliness. Thank Heaven they have each other, and Robot. But that's no substitute for a real life. There are certain things siblings can't do for each other. I cried my eyes out when I realized it was time for Penny's senior prom---and that she hadn't even been to high school."

Don seemed a bit calmer, now.

"Yeah. Well, Will helped her take care of that. When we were out spelunking, he set up the Bridge as a dance floor. To make up with her for arguing on her Birthday. Sometimes, I think there isn't anything they wouldn't do for each other."

At these words, truer than any of them knew, John concluded his point.

"Now, do you two see our point? This isn't about religious or moral principle, any more. This is about survival. We don't have one-twentieth of the luxuries Voyager does. A baby--would be lonely, vulnerable--and we might one day have to choose to let it die, so the rest of us could live. And need I remind you that each and every one of us that are regular crew serves a vital function? A baby wouldn't have Will's skill in making that junk pile work. It couldn't pilot, command, project course, analyze reams of data or keep reliable records." 

Judy shook her head.

"Daddy--it would be loved. You once told me that is all a baby needs. Were you lying?"

Remembering his wife's words about who Judy took after, in terms of stubbornness, John proceeded gently.

"I wasn't lying. But perhaps I was a little naive. Out here, my darling, things have to be different. For that I'm sorry."

A rapprochement seemed at hand.

"I'll consider it. All right? Give me--give us time, and we'll consider it."

The word was seemed.

"There's nothing to consider. That wasn't a request, Judy. It was an order. This is not negotiable."

The younger couple then stormed out, and all was chaos. Maureen held John, and neither felt very strong, right then.

* * *

In her quarters, Captain Janeway looked down and smiled at her sleeping First Officer. Despite all the myriad precautions they took---and myriad was the word--they still feared being found out. So it was that an attraction that ran deep was rarely given into.

"This---was a mistake."

Activating a Captain's-eyes only site-to-site transport with deeply encrypted codes that only she could change, Kathryn sent Chakotay back to his quarters. Hours earlier, in view of several crewmembers, a hidden holo-emitter had 'Chakotay' entering his quarters alone. Again, a myriad of precautions, aboard so isolated a ship, where Command could not be seen or sensed doing Command.

Janeway happily flopped back into the downed mattress she would soon recycle.

"But some mistakes are a lot more fun than others."

Two hours later, her commbadge buzzed.

"Captain, this is Tuvok. Please respond."

"I'm here, Tuvok--sort of. What's up?"

Tuvok sounded tired himself.

"Captain, I too was recently awakened. Did you say you wish to Sup? As in have dinner?"

Janeway tried desperately to clear her head.

"Sup?! Tuvok, why did you call me? I'll assume there was a reason."

"True. Major West and Judy Robinson wish to speak with you. And If I recall correctly, you yourself had some questions for them."

"True. Have them meet me in my ready room---in about one hour."

On the Bridge, Tuvok turned to one of his men. 

"I am assigning you to temporarily keep the Doctors Robinson from their daughter Judy and Major Don West."

Louis-Francois Feret was a man who obeyed orders, and so went to do as he was told. Upon the completion of their voyage, the stoic Vulcan would say words to him that very nearly seemed like gushing, all for that simple virtue.

In Janeway's ready room, a barely-ready Janeway met the crewmembers of The Jupiter 2.

"Major--Doctor---what was so urgent, that it couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

Don spoke for himself and the woman he loved.

"Captain Janeway--for political, religious, and social reasons--Judy and I would to request asylum on Voyager. Maybe become part of your crew."

Kathryn stared blankly ahead. She really didn't need this.

"Computer--Raktageno. It's going to be a long night."

She quickly took a swig of The Klingon coffee. She then stared at the cup.

"Why did I order this?"

John Robinson's reaction to the news was every bit as reasoned and unemotional as Captain Janeway had been expecting.

"Kathryn, surely you can't be seriously considering acquiescing to this childish burst of snotty foolishness."

Maureen Robinson was every bit her husband's equal.

"What John's trying to say, Kathryn, is that we can't believe you'd give anything other than the lightest courtesy to this absurd, stupid request that Judy and Don have made."

Judy was her parents' daughter.

"Captain, it should be noted that in my parents' lexicon, anything they don't like or agree with is by definition childish, stupid, and just plain wrong."

Don West showed the elder Robinsons all the courtesy, patience, and reason that he had always felt---towards Zachary Smith.

"All Hail the Mighty Morphing Moral Hypocrites! Lecture you when you're wrong--or just on any old occasion! Let's have Will do unnecessary homework, turning him into a brat out of resentment. Let's cancel Penny's rise into adulthood, making her impossible to live with. After all, that ship needs a maid and butler. Why does it need them? Because the supposed fifth adult doesn't earn his keep, and even leeches off everyone else. We can't put him off the ship--that'd be wrong. But Oh Don--Oh Judy--please get rid of that inconvenient baby. When we left Earth's atmosphere, our Pro-Life credentials became inert. Much like our souls!"

John balled his hands into fists. Tuvok patted his phaser, in John's full view.

"Doctor--Do Not."

Both exhausted and hopped up on wrongly-ordered Raktageno, Kathryn Janeway was in no mood for all this. But her obligations were clear. An asylum request had been made. One that Judy and Don had at least valid reasons for making.

"Would all of you please be quiet? I will hear this asylum request, and I will consider it under the aegis and guidance of the appropriate regulations. The Prime Directive may not apply, as you all have been exposed to technologies that may in fact exceed our own. That too, has to be determined."

She looked at each in turn.

"Judy. Let it be known that on a mission level, I agree with your parents' decision. I also cannot see it as anyone's right but your own to decide this. There's also the matter of interfering with the timeline of your world. All will be taken into account. Up or down--you will respect and abide by my choice. Understood?"

Judy nodded.

"Major West. Let it be known that I don't care for insubordination. But much like another very talented XO of my acquaintance, it is a role you never expected to be in, and one you appear to have made work. If my decision goes against you, as it well might, you will permit me a chance to explain myself as to how I arrived at that decision."

If Don's own ground commander in Saudi Arabia had not been a woman, he might have done some 20th Century grumbling. But as it stood, he saw that Janeway was every bit as thoughtful as she looked.

"Agreed, Captain."

"Thank You. Maureen--your children are remarkably well-behaved, especially when one considers your circumstance. It could easily have gone another way. So it was for us. Mister Chakotay and I could have been standing at phaser-point to each other, me spouting regs, him spouting rhetoric. Starfleet CO's have big blind spots; Maquis CO's believe in their cause well but not always wisely. Had either of us been a hair different, the two crews would never have become the one. Your crew was already one. It could have broken up. This matter might still make that happen. When my choice comes down, consider your own. The stakes are rarely as Zero-One as we think at first glance. And even good CO's can be dead wrong."

Maureen seemed a bit offended, despite the respectful tone Kathryn had given her.

"Kathryn--have you ever been a mother?"

Having attended to other ship's business, Chakotay entered as Maureen said those words. He knew his Captain, friend, and sometimes-more well enough to know what her reaction would be to such pointed words. He was not to be proven wrong.

"Don't even attempt to use that on me. Because everyone who's ever used a like argument on me has lost and lost big. I'll make my choice--and then we'll see what happens. Maybe one of you four will change your minds, either way. But birth only imparts a bond, Maureen. It does not impart divinity, any more than these pips do. Kindly back off."

Having never had her ace-in-the-hole argument shot so full of holes before, Maureen did just that. Finally, Janeway turned to her fellow Commanding Officer.

"John. Let it be known that I have no desire to hear this case. But when I agreed to take the center seat, I signed up for the hard, not the easy choices, just as you did. I also have no desire to usurp or otherwise harm your authority or your standing with your family. But Judy is an adult by the standards of the culture we both ultimately come from. Again, while I believe yours is the correct choice, I feel that you have prosecuted it in a way that I must deem ill-advised. I also firmly believe that you do not have the authority you are claiming over Judy's body. When I make my decision, all three of those factors will mean---nothing at all. I will make my choice based on the appropriate regulations and legal precedents, both of your time--and my own."

John decided that Captain Janeway's decision-making process might serve well as a cooling-off period. He also greatly appreciated her effort at wording. Plus, while he loved her dearly, John had been waiting for twenty years to see Maureen's mother argument cut off at the knees.

"Thank You, Kathryn. Was there anything else?"

"Yes. What I'm about to say I plainly have no right to say. None at all. And, as Chakotay could tell you, no Starfleet Commander is pure enough to cast the first stone in this matter. But, here goes. You and Maureen have argued that your situation is so very dire, it demands that you eschew the beliefs of a lifetime. If I decided this on debate alone, that one argument would cost you everything. For I have found that, when things are at their very worst, it is then that you must cling to those beliefs most firmly, else they mean next to nothing. Rules can be bent, and moral beliefs sorely, sorely tested. But on this plane of existence, the only ones who can hold us responsible for how well we live up to them--are the people who stare back at us from the mirror. Lord, I hate to pontificate." 

John smiled.

"Why? You do it rather well."

Alphas either butt heads or bond instantly. Were either CO a lesser person, at that moment, Maureen and Chakotay might have had some worries as Kathryn smiled back.

"Thank You. But I do have one more non-binding suggestion. Judy, I'd like you to see our EMH. I'd like the baby to be checked for defects. Potential problems of the life-threatening kind. There are still some problems that we in our century can detect, but not correct. If one of those is present, then I'd like you to consider that in your choice."

Judy looked at her parents.

"Alright, Captain. After all, their argument holds water in that case. Certainly, we can't sustain a neo-natal ICU on our ship. And if there's more than that---I'll abide by what they've asked of me. IF--that's what the Doctor says, in unequivocal language."

Don looked at his CO and best friend.

"John, later, when we've had a chance to cool off--I'd like to talk."

"I think I'd like that, Don."

As The Doctors Robinson left as well, Chakotay turned to his Captain.

"From time to time, you remind me why I found the second spot so very acceptable. You handled that brilliantly. Now, I hope you can stay brilliant. We have two discipline problems. Apparently, Tom and Be'lanna gave Penny and Will free run of two holodecks. To my mind, you hadn't authorized such temporally iffy access."

Janeway rubbed her head. Again.

"On the one hand, I believe that the Robinsons are not your normal time-lost travelers. John told me of many frankly superior cultures, and their sciences. On the other hand--those two had better have a damned good reason for jumping the gun. So have them sent in."

Chakotay nodded.

"I think they do. But I also think you better hear it from them. This one's a stunner."

She shook her head.

"Please don't say that. If you are truly a loyal First Officer--please don't say that."

* * *

In Sickbay, Will began their tale.

"You see, Doctor, it was Penny's Eighteenth birthday, and she felt a little depressed, and became a little high-strung, and I was stepping on her toes without meaning to."

Penny appreciated his words, but corrected her younger brother.

"Will's kind to a fault, Doctor. The truth is, he didn't do anything. Not that it mattered. Because, on my Eighteenth birthday, I became a moody, stuck-up little bitch. Pardon my French."

The EMH looked up.

"When did you speak French?"

* * *

Janeway looked at the two officers she had raised up with a little bit of scorn. She was not one to mince words, and she didn't start mincing them then.

"How in the hell could you two expose two teenagers from the---blessed--20th Century to holo-deck technology?! I'll grant you that the Robinsons have been exposed to illusion-generating tech in the past, but you gave them access to full modification parameters. With the innate intelligence that Will and Penny have shown, you had to know that they are very capable of understanding it all. You may have altered their universe's timeline in ways we can't even begin to predict. Why? So Penny could alter her male companion an unheard of 1500 times? So Will could swim with a gaggle of nude 15-year old girls?"

Tom Paris spoke up, confused.

"Why did he alter my basic 'Pool Party' program that much? If he wanted multiple companions, then I could have set up some kind of basement party."

Chakotay stopped him.

"Tom, I checked the program's run sequence. Let's just say the computer was in one of its non-compliant moods. As you might expect, Will quickly became frustrated, and went to an extreme. Oddly, though, he was only in the pool a minute. My guess is, he didn't want to find out if there were any more restrictions on his actions."

"What restrictions? I gave him carte blanche, and a clear field--so to speak."

Chakotay shook his head.

"Not in the program I saw. There were bullies, parental figures, lifeguards, and so many other males at first that he couldn't find a girl to even talk to."

Paris knew the Captain was waiting, but couldn't break away.

"Odd. Really odd. Commander, the things you're describing--aren't in that program. I made it for Harry---it's designed to be gentle--and no practical jokes."

"Mister Paris?"

"Sorry, Captain. And--Sorry, Captain."

Tom turned to his partner in holography.

"Captain, Be'lanna had nothing to do with this. She didn't know what I was up to."

Torres shook her head.

"Tom--don't even think about it. Captain, we were both in this up to our stinking eyeballs. We were trying to help Will and Penny. Tom was afraid--and now so am I-- that those kids may eventually fall into what some call an 'OCC' relationship. We thought that if they worked out some feelings here, it might help them in the long run."

Janeway's jaw dropped.

"Outer Colony Companionship? You think that they---oh my God. Alright. I can't punish you in this instance. I won't. But you two just earned point on helping me figure out this asylum question. And no more tech-intro without my approval."

Tom smiled.

"Captain--thanks. But among the things we discussed before putting the holodecks to use was a plan--that just might help the crew of The Jupiter 2--and this crew, to boot."

Captain Janeway listened to the first ever collaboration of Paris/Torres. She and her First Officer liked what they heard. Potentially, this plan solved a whole host of problems.

* * *

Down in Sickbay, Penny began her story.

"I had just hit Eighteen--finally. I couldn't get drunk, so I found another way to make a complete fool of myself."

* * *

JUPITER 2, LATE 2001

Will was exhausted. Scrubbing floors was not his favorite chore, and doing them all by himself made it even less so. But cleaning the ship within an inch of its life was very, very necessary any time they were planet side. Mold and fungus in a closed environment was just not a good idea.

"Where is she? Where Is She? WHERE IS SHE?!"

She emerged, smiling and happy.

"Will--you do such good housework. Did anyone ever tell you that?"

There was an attitude in Penny's voice that Will definitely wanted to see brought down a peg.

"Where were you? Never mind. While I'm finishing up the floors, you inspect the dishware and utensils for residue. Then we can both clean the oven elements before nightfall."

His older sister merely giggled, though, and tweaked his nose.

"Nope. I don't have to."

Will shook his head.

"Yesterday was your birthday. Today we both go back at it. C'mon, Penny. Quit kidding around."

She put her arms at her hips.

"The only kid I see here is you, Will Robinson. Chores--cleaning--that's done by the little people. People like you. Now do a good job--Mom and Dad expect this place to be ship-shape--heh-ship-shape."

Way too pleased with herself, Penny wandered off and did what she pleased. Will did not. Experience had taught him how to handle such circumstances, though. So he did not go to his parents. He let his parents come to him, some hours later.

"Will--why are you still cleaning those cooking elements at this hour? We take off tomorrow, and we need these things already done when we begin countdown."

Maureen seconded her husband, as Will knew she would.

"I'm glad you had a chance to play in the open air, Will, but you should really be more considerate of everyone else. If these things needed doing, then you should have done them when Penny did her chores."

Will stood up, and actually smiled, despite his aches and the grease that was all over him. Penny was going to get hers so bad, and after she did, he was going to take pains to rub it in.

"Mom, Dad---about Penny's chores, inconsiderate people, and doing what  
we're supposed to?"

* * *

"Penny, we need to talk with you."

Happily for the Jupiter 2, the system they were in had a good many quasi-livable planets. Air could be exchanged, and water reoxygenated, almost once a month. By coasting into reentry, something Don had become quite expert at, and using the planets' magnetic field to break orbit, their fuel use had become minimal.

It had been one month since Penny had declared herself free of the cleaning regimen that life on the ship demanded. Will had bided his time, since there was really nothing to do aboard the ship but clean---and be alone. He knew that come next planetfall, Penny would be spoken to, in no uncertain terms. That time had come. At a remove, he listened in, and relished every second of it.

"Sure thing. John--Maureen--what do you want to talk about?"

The two parents looked at each other. Maureen spoke first.

"Penny--its Dad and Mom. It will always be Dad and Mom. It will never not be Dad and Mom. Am I clear?"

Penny laughed.

"If you two want to hold onto those titles for sentimental reasons, then I'm adult enough to go along with the gag."

John now took point.

"Penny---you are not an adult."

She shook her head in the dismissive way that Will had memorized the better to eternally remind her of it.

"Of course I am. I'm Eighteen now. That means I am an adult."

John shook his head in a dismissive way that no Robinson child needed to memorize.

"Honey, when we came out here, we all agreed to make sacrifices. One of those sacrifices has to be a delaying of the things that would have occurred, had we remained on Earth. Treasure your childhood a while longer. Once we reach Alpha Centauri, it'll be over soon enough."

Penny sensed his direction, and liked it not at all.

"But--we might not reach Alpha Centauri for another ten years. Maybe longer. When do I become an adult? Twenty-One? Twenty-Four?"

Maureen stepped in.

"It depends on what you mean by an adult, dear. But until this mission is completely over and done with, we need you and Will to keep on with that cleaning. It's vital to our very existence, and it's very unfair just to dump it all on him."

Penny picked up a snit, both in her voice and in her face.

"Oh, but it's eminently fair to dump them on both of us, while letting Judy--who DID become an adult at Eighteen, off the hook."

Maureen next said what Penny prayed she would not. In a way, this confirmed one of her  
most paranoid fears.

"Dear--Judy's a special case, and needs special consideration."

Penny sat down, and while she successfully fought back tears, it was only the first wave.

"Why? Because you never had the control over her you did on me and Will? Maybe if I had been the pretty, pouty young blonde drinking, snorting and spreading my legs on---and off-- the Broadway stage, then I'd be an adult right now, too."

John wisely saw that this ugly moment was only going to get uglier.

"Honey, back when we started, the cleaning was done the way I and your mother remembered it. Then, especially after we encountered those Amazons, your Mother reminded me that it was the 21st Century, and that maybe we men should start earning our keep. With one notable exception, we have. But cleaning duties are more than just picking up after ourselves. They are as vital as Don's astrogation, my spacewalks, your Mother's biophysical analysis, and Judy's record-keeping and fuel watch. Birth has you two at the bottom of the pecking order, here. If we could count on Doctor Smith for anything, it might be a different story. But it's not. So, as tedious and menial as it might be, those duties are where this mission demands you stay."

Penny was beginning to feel sick.

"I have other duties. So does Will. You also still haven't answered my question. When do I become an adult?"

John now delivered the coup de grace, a blow meant to be delivered gently, but still savagely hurtful in its implications.

"We'll all discuss that as we go along."

Penny then bolted, and closed the door to her room. Maureen spoke from behind her husband.

"John----"

"Darling, don't. None of us are where we planned to be. The mission demands no duty changes--not after almost five years. We have no margin for retraining errors."

Raised to be a wife of a certain tradition, Maureen held her tongue. But one day, aboard a ship called Voyager, she would follow the example of another woman she met--who was not even remotely trained to hold her tongue. 

Emerging from her quarters an hour later, a seething Penny returned to her duties-- and to a childhood with no end in sight. She also learned a hard rule: Be very careful how you treat people on your way up, because they will be waiting for you on your way down. Will Robinson was waiting for his sister with open claws.

"Mind if I put on some music?"

She was checking the tiling beneath the floor for mold. She shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

He smiled, and flicked on the audio file. It was an old Disney favorite.

"Cinderelly---Cinderelly----Clean The Kitchen---Shine The Silver---"

Her hand flicked it off, and red rage entered her eyes. She let him have it all, in a few sharp words.

"Go to your room, little boy--and go play with your hand!"

But Will was not just ready for a fight. He was spoiling for one.

"Like you don't. I can hear you at night, you know. Need a new pillowcase?"

Things went downhill from there. Penny quickly shot back.

"You little pervert! Have you been listening to me...at night?"

Will folded his arms.

"We little people have to have our amusements, after all."

"Why don't you grow up?"

Will looked at his sister.

"Because I knew what would happen, if I tried to say I was a grown-up. I even tried to tell you. But you weren't listening. So you got all Princess HighnMighty. But you were really just a roach, and Mom and Dad squashed you."

She slammed her fist down on the table nearby.

"Do you have any idea the amount of garbage I have taken from you, all these years? The amount of idiocy that I've put up with? You know, you're as bad as Smith, touching everything here and there--causing problems. You and your little boy troubles! When I was a little girl, I put up with all the attention they give you and Judy. But now I can tell you, you spoiled brat. You are nothing but a showboat. All your brains, and you're still just a lonely, stupid kid who wouldn't have any friends even if we were back on Earth."

Will frowned.

"Ohhh—it's YOU who's put up with ME? I don't think so. Try living with a land mine. Try having someone who whines about me and special favors that I supposedly get. Try someone who compares herself to Judy, and moons over Don, despite knowing better. Try someone who tries repeatedly to get Mom and Dad to change their minds about how we do things, when she KNOWS that's just gonna make things worse. Try having someone who won't let you forget anything wrong you've done, but can never remember anything wrong she's done!"

Penny turned away from him.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this. I'm supposed to be an adult. When Dad says, 'Not while you're under my roof', I'm supposed to have the option of moving out on my own, and finding a crummy, sleazy overpriced apartment with a deadbeat slob of a roommate."

Will shrugged.

"I'm SO sorry that your promotion got cancelled. Guess you're stuck here with dumb old me!"

She turned back towards him.

"You jerk! I never wanted to be better than you. I just wanted to be an adult. You know, they could've just told me to keep doing the chores---they didn't have to say that I wasn't really one of them. Would it kill them to just pretend?"

They both felt the anger dissipate, as a common feeling emerged. Will spoke now without sarcasm.

"Sometimes--I think that Mom and Dad like having us all in this situation. On Earth, Judy would have moved out, at least. You'd be applying for several colleges--probably MIT or Harvard. I'd be begging some girl to let me---"

He stopped. Penny glared.

"Just say it. However else I've been acting, I've never judged you---not deliberately, anyway."

So he said it.

"Begging her to let me under her bra."

"Under her bra? You were embarrassed to say that? Will, some of Judy's friends at fifteen were going to nude swimming parties."

"Penny, I---don't have a life. I've never had a life. I was ten when we left. I only got the bra reference from 'Happy Days'. I don't know what girls let you get away with, in 2002. I don't know any girls, period."

She walked away, to go to her room upstairs.

"We neither of us know anybody, Will. No petting--no proms, with what happens after---nothing. We're little Ricky. We're Tabitha. We're Bobby and Cindy, for God's sake. We are never going to be allowed to grow up. Because mission or no, that's how they like it."

The statement was unfair and somewhat inaccurate. But it felt true.

* * *

The EMH stopped the narrative.

"Those are some fairly bitter feelings. Though I'm frankly surprised you don't feel them more deeply than you do. You may not care for your parents' approach, at times--but it's obvious that they raised you very well. Your common strength of character is evident. Well, now that it's all out in the open...."

Penny shook her head.

"No, Doctor. That was only the beginning of what happened. See, I was still in a mood. So, Will here did something very wonderful to snap me out of it. His intentions were sweet, and good."

Will looked sheepish now.

"And it kind of led where some good intentions end up."

* * *

As the siblings explained their situation, Robot encountered a situation that bore no explanation.

"Ohhh, please, let me out of here. Have we not been friends and boon companions, these five years?"

"No, Doctor Smith. We have not been friends, etc, etc. etc. You have often called me 'a booby'. Other phrases include 'Mechanical Moron' and 'Ferret Face'."

Smith shook his head.

"Ferret Face? When have I ever called you that?"

"Ahhh. It seems that my memory files became mixed with Major West's M*A*S*H Collection. You have my apologies."

"Boooby---I don't want your apologies! I wish to be released from this accursed brig. Captain Janeway shall hear from my attorneys, when we reach Earth, and I shall file a stunning cross-dimensional lawsuit that shall make legal history!"

The Robot started.

"Doctor Smith--were you just saying something?"

"Feh! If you were any kind of true friend, you would join me in this brig. I've become sooo very lonely."

"Very well, Doctor Smith. I shall join you."

Smith was ready to bolt, when the brig was lowered. But Robot merely sauntered right through instead. Smith was incredulous.

"But why didn't it stop you?"

"My circuitry scanned the field's frequency, and simply attuned me to it. Watch. I can step out..."

He wheeled forward, then back.

"...And I can step in. Out. In. In. Out. Notably, you are lacking in this ability."

Smith smiled.

"Or rather---I was."

He tore out the Robot's power pack.

"What say you to that---BOOOBY?"

The Robot spoke.

"I say that what you have just pulled out is no longer my power pack--Booby. Will Robinson miniaturized it and improved its efficiency some time ago."

The scheming man was indignant.

"But no one ever told me of this."

"You--didn't--ask."

Plans of freedom frustrated yet again, something in Smith's mind began to change. The change was most decidedly not for the better.

* * *

Captain Janeway was ready for The Robinsons. She sent a message to John and Maureen's cabin.

"Doctors--I'm prepared to announce my asylum decision. When do you wish to meet?"

John sounded a bit dazed.

"In--about five or six hours, Kathryn."

"And you, Maureen?"

There was silence.

"Maureen--can't talk right now, Captain. I-I-IIIyiiiiiyi--I'll get back to you---"

The pleasure in John's voice said it all.

"Well, I guess that having real privacy for once can be quite liberating for a married couple."

Chakotay nodded.

"I've always found it so."

She next contacted Judy Robinson and Don West.

"Doctor--Major--I'm prepared to give my decision in about six hours."

Judy responded, almost giggling.

"That's----stop that----fine, Captain Jane--whoaaa!!--way. We'll  
be----"

Both Captain and XO had to laugh. Chakotay shrugged.

"Well, now we know how they pass those long months on their voyage."

Janeway's smile faded.

"How most of them pass their time, anyway. Smith probably plots his next caper, and Robot had the good sense not to be programmed like we poor weak humans--at least not entirely. I wonder how they made him? I can't wait to hear the Doctor's report."

"On him and on Smith. The Doctor indicated that our permanent brig-guest has a secret of his own. But after what Tom and Be'lanna just said, I'm more concerned about Penny and Will. And no offense, Captain--but why were you so anxious to let them off the hook? Granted, it was a good, and quite possibly a logical concern in their situation. But you all but gave him an automatic pass."

Janeway nodded. She punched up a file, using her personal security code.

"Forget about being a loyal First Officer. If you are my friend, then this file does not travel. Not to Be'lanna, Kes, Neelix, or Harry. If Tom asks you why I showed this to you, it was for security and disciplinary reasons. Any breach of this trust, and I will withdraw my apology for keeping you in the dark on The Jonas Matter. Understood?"

"With that look on your face? Understood, Kathryn. And for the record--I am both and in both instances am I loyal. Understood?"

She nodded.

"I know. But that file will tell you exactly why Tom Paris has such strong feelings on Outer Colony Companionship, or as it's clinically known----incest."

The word had been said, the euphemisms dropped. Chakotay's jaw soon followed, as he read the report in full.

* * *

In Sickbay, Will picked up the narrative.

"I decided that if Penny wanted to be free of all the little kid stuff--maybe I could make a kind of gateway. So while everyone else was out spelunking, I did some work on The Command Center."

* * *

FEBRUARY, 2002 - JUPITER 2

Penny stared in awe at Will's overnight work.

"What--what did you do?"

There were streamers, colored lights, a punch bowl, and even a makeshift disco ball. Will pointed about.

"It's Prom Night!"

She glared.

"This isn't funny, Will. What's next--pig's blood?"

"Noooo. I didn't do this as a joke. Penny--this is your senior prom. Now, let's get into those clothes Mom kept for us from the wish machine. I'll be your escort to the dance."

She sighed, then cupped his cheek.

"Will, I love you for this. But going to the prom with your brother is not a sign of a good social life--or even a make-believe one."

Will smiled, shaking his head.

"C'mon! Use your imagination. I'm only your escort. When we get to the dance, your date will tap me on the shoulder, and then you'll dance with him."

She nodded, excited at least by the fantasy aspect of it all. She had so wanted to go to a prom. Or any social function.

"All right. But if we're using our imaginations, my date has to have a little sister your age, and when he taps me, then you dance with her. Alright?"

Glad that she was getting into it, Will ran to get dressed, as did she. But just for fun, she took two hours to his one to do so.

When she emerged, in a pink gown and matching hair-scarf, Will gulped.

"How do I look?"

"Like you've always looked, Sis. You're gorgeous."

She looked down.

"You didn't need to say that. I know I'm not like Judy."

A bit tired of her self-criticism, Will held out his hand.

"Judy Who?"

The smile returned to her face. They began to dance. It was a tender moment, as the music played.

"May I Have This Dance; For The Rest Of My Life; Will You Be My Partner; Every Night; When We're Together--It Feels So Right; May I Have This Dance; For The Rest Of My Life?"

It was fun, dancing together, she thought. But now her imagination kicked in. She saw her date---frontier handsome, of course--registering at the front.

"Ohh--My Love--My Darling--I Hunger For Your Touch; A Long---Lonely Time--Time Goes By--So Slowly--And Time Can Do So Much;"

She closed her eyes, and saw Will tapped on the shoulder by her date. Playfully, he gave Will the heave-ho sign with his thumb, then slapped him on the back lightly. She pulled him close, and reveled in the moment. As she saw Will walk towards his date, she silently mouthed thanks to her little brother.

Going along, Will closed his eyes and saw that Penny's date's sister was one of those crazy girls who for some reason didn't know just how pretty she was. Suddenly his tuxedo seemed appropriate to such an event--and such a young woman.

"You--are beautiful."

"Thank You. You look so good in that."

As the long evening continued, the two couples danced the night away.

"Oh, What A Night...Late December..."

"You Make Me Feel Like Dancin"

"I Want Yooou To Show Me The Way…"

"But Don't Forget Who's Takin' You Home And In Whose Arms You're Gonna Be..."

The moment had come. The chaperones were on another part of the floor. Penny felt her date grasp the sides of her head, ever so gently. She didn't hesitate to open her mouth.

Will was dazzled by this girl, and she seemed to like him. He grasped her head by the sides.

"I won't if you don't want to."

"I want to. With you. Very Much."

Nervous as hell, he kissed her, full on the lips. She tasted and smelled terrific. And felt so very familiar. It was the best moment of his life.

Penny thought it sweet that a seemingly mature boy was actually nervous around her. She felt so much the same way. And it was as if she had known him her whole life. In what she thought of as a role reversal, she began to probe his mouth with her tongue.

But after fifteen minutes of this, their eyes popped open--and all was revealed.

* * *

The EMH nodded. His concern was evident.

"What happened to you two was not unexpected. You have a combination of early mental maturity combined with an extended childhood--and normal teenage hormones. In short: I don't think you're insane. You do have some things to work out. Oh, boy, do you have some things to work out."

Penny nodded.

"But Doctor--can we trust each other? Because, just for a moment, after I opened my eyes--I didn't care who I was with. I just wanted it to never stop."

Will looked down.

"I was even worse. I was actually thinking of what my next move would be."

The EMH stood up.

"Well, my first recommendation is very basic. Don't do it again. We'll figure out the rest as we talk more. Okay?"

They left, at least happy to have this burden shared by someone else. When they were gone, the Doctor let loose with his own immediate take on the subject.

"Oooooh---ICK!!"

Hours later, a Will and Penny who now felt a great deal more relaxed around one another joined their family in Janeway's ready room.

"Folks--I'm putting off the asylum question for now, and substituting an offer. We need able, intelligent crew. You were lost in your reality's Delta Quadrant. Combined, our chances of seeing any version of Earth are greater. Stay with us. Become the third crew to join ours. Make your family a part of what we've forged here."

John spoke.

"Kathryn, your offer is enormously generous..."

Maureen stepped in.

"And we're going to give it every consideration. We'll have an answer for you, soon enough."

John glared.

"Honey, I think we might have an answer already."

Maureen stared back, and gave no ground.

"I think you might be wrong, dear. In fact, I know that you are. We'll discuss it. All of it."

Janeway knew better than to seek a ringing endorsement, so she dismissed everyone to their discussions. John's feelings aside, almost all were for it. For Judy and Don, it was their baby's life and a chance at new tech. For Will and Penny, it was the relief of many other potential mates. But quite a bit was still to be settled.

Suddenly, the ship rocked.

"Janeway to Tuvok---what the hell was that?"

"Captain---there have been two simultaneous explosions. One in the hydroponics bay, and one in Kes's quarters."

"My God."

Outside of Smith's brig, Neelix delivered one of his specials. Smith regarded it warily.

"Is it at all edible?"

Neelix heard the explosions, and smiled broadly.

"Doctor Smith, you would be amazed at what I can cook up, given the right motivation!"


	6. Chapter Five We'd Like To Know A Little

**Chapter Five - We'd Like To Know A Little Bit About You For Our Files...**

Doctor Maureen Robinson was a woman in ecstasy. For the replicators that Kathryn had instructed her in the judicious use of had produced the first new set of pantyhose she'd worn in five years. For the moment wearing short pants, she tried them on her bare legs, and couldn't believe how comfortable the fabric blend from 2266 was. Kathryn said that it had been the favorite of an Admiral she knew, once a lowly Communications Officer.

The door chime rang.

"Come in."

Standing at the door was Harry Kim, relaying a message. But the young man quickly noticed the pantyhose on the strong, former dancer's still-shapely legs.

"Mrs.---Mrs.---Robinson."

"Can I help you, Mister Kim?"

Harry was staring at her legs, and he made no bones about it--well, almost no bones. The pantyhose awoke something inside a young man who was almost as lonely as Maureen's two younger children.

"Ass--Ass--Ass--er, Astrometrics. The Captain wants you and your husband to join her and---join with me---join me, as we try to figure out the mysteries of lov--of how you all got lost in your universe's Delta Quadrant."

Maureen, confused, whipped off the pantyhose, and threw them across the room. Harry's vision followed them, and he gulped.

"All right, Harry. Tell Kathryn that John and I will be there with bells on."

Harry wheezed, suddenly seeing Maureen with bells--and nothing else--on.

"Be-Be-Be-Bells?"

Maureen, still confused, tried to change the subject.

"Harry, are you an Academy dropout, like Be'lanna Torres?"

"No-no-no-ho-ho-no, Ma'am! I'm a-a-a--"

"Graduate?"

"Yeah. That's it."

John then walked in. He saw the pantyhose. He smiled.

"I cannot wait to see you in those. Mister Kim--my wife's legs shine in those pantyhose. They could make a man melt."

Harry nodded, dumbly.

"Melt. Heh. Melt. Oh, By the way, Doctors-Commander Chakotay asked me if you needed any raw materials replicated in case you decide not to stay with us."

John held up a finger.

"Yes, Harry, we do. One word: Plastics."

Harry left, hormones raging near out of control.

John stared out.

"Nice enough young man. A bit squirrelly, though."

Maureen seconded her husband.

"The way he acted, you'd think that I was trying to seduce him."

John returned to an earlier subject.

"Kathryn explained to me how I stepped on your toes by trying to summarily decide whether we stay aboard Voyager. She really is a remarkable woman. Kind of a Maureen O'Hara strong redhead."

Maureen O'Hara in her prime aside, Maureen Robinson found her husband's words just a trifle ominous.

In the corridor beyond, Tom Paris and Be'lanna Torres saw Harry Kim floating as though on a cloud.

"Hey, Starfleet! What's got you so up?"

"Harry--did you meet someone? C'mon, pal--who is she?"

Harry almost didn't hear himself speak.

"Mrs. Robinson."

As he walked off, Tom and Be'lanna, still roughly a year away from their decision to become a couple, took in this latest romantic misadventure of their young friend. Tom looked at the wall.

"Ladies first."

Be'lanna nodded.

"Thank You."

Be'lanna, and then Tom after her, began to bang their heads against the nearby wall. Chakotay wandered by, and stared.

"Who's Harry after this time?"

Observing the exchange between Torres and Paris, Penny and Will Robinson chuckled.

"God, those two!"

Will agreed.

"Some people are just soooo obvious as a future couple. So, do you have your eye on someone?"

His sister nodded.

"Sure do. Harry Kim. And I think he likes me, too. During my breakfast with Mom, he couldn't stop staring over at me."

"Me, I'll have to wait. But at least we have people to wait for, around here."

As the eighteen-year old went off in mistaken pursuit, the fifteen-year old went back to his private cabin. He could enjoy life aboard this ship--free from parental eyes and ears, or at least freer than he was.

As Will entered his cabin, he heard the shower running. In the stall was a blonde woman. Though he could only see her head, Will realized it was Kes, whom he had been told died in the twin explosions the previous day. His head swimming, he sat down on his bed.

"Thank God--for a minute there, I was afraid she was Judy!"

Kes came out, and made no move to cover herself.

"Will---I'm supposed to be dead. Someone is trying to kill me. Can I stay here? I can put up a divider, for privacy. I chose this as the last place he might look"

Will fought back a lot of remarks.

"I think you'd better. I'm only fifteen--and my folks don't want me seeing--certain things."

Kes smiled, and stepped behind the computer-activated divider.

"That's okay. Occampan are not modesty-prone, by nature. Plus, I'm only four  
years old, myself."

As her backside vanished behind the divider, Will agonized.

*Four, she says. My first willing naked lady, and I end up being a pervert by default! If there's a bigger fool than me, I wish them well. Cause they'll need it.*

In the galley, Penny sat open-jawed and bug-eyed. Harry Kim had just destroyed her.

"What did you just say?!"

Harry stared ahead and right through her.

"I just said that your mother is one pretty lady. So very pretty."

Penny walked out.

"Beaten out by my MOM! If there's a bigger fool than me, I wish them well, cause they'll need it."

She met her brother in the hallway.

"Hi, Will."

"Hi, Penny. How're you?"

"I've got an Oedipus Complex in the galley. Yourself?"

"I've got an immodest blonde four-year old grown woman in my cabin. Wanna dance?"

"Sure. But this time, we breathe through the nose--it keeps the mouth closed."

"You said it!"

In Sickbay, The Doctor had good news for Judy Robinson.

"Your child is completely healthy. You should have an uncomplicated delivery. But---are you friendly with your siblings?"

Judy nodded at the odd, personal question.

"Of course. We're not as close as we all once were, but that's life. Especially since Don and I started together."

The EMH steepled his fingers.

"What if I told you that Will and Penny have perhaps become--closer to one another?"

Judy grew queasy.

"Define closer, Doctor."

The EMH gulped.

"Tongues."

Judy took this in for a minute.

"I need to throw up."

"More morning sickness?"

Judy ran for the refresher.

"No--not morning sickness."

Back in the galley, Tom Paris sat down to eat. The false news about Kes depressed him---although Neelix seemed to take it alright. The pasta--or Rotoulian, as Neelix called it, was light and wavy. He saw Don West walk up.

"Hey, Major! Try the pasta--it's great."

Don dumped his tray all over Tom, and stood there, with arms folded. Paris looked up.

"Well, Don, if you don't like the pasta, you can always have pinto beans. I mean, geez." 

---------

The holodeck that Will and Penny sat in had been converted into a theater. They sat together, and enjoyed a movie from the Jupiter 2's files. Their older sister Judy came roaring in, glaring furiously at the two.

"Just what in the HELL do you two think you're doing?!"

Will looked up.

"Watching 'It's A Wonderful Life'."

Penny nodded.

"We needed cheering up. What's the matter, Judy? Don't like Frank Capra?"

Judy shook her head in utter disbelief.

"What's going to happen? What is going to happen?"

Will pointed at the screen.

"Well, the schoolteacher's husband just punched Jimmy Stewart, so he's about to have the car accident and think about jumping off the Bridge."

Penny shook her head.

"Judy, it's not like you to get all worked up over a movie like this."

Judy held up her finger.

"What about all the kissing?"

Penny still missed her point.

"Granted, he and Donna Reed do kiss, but it's all well within the bounds of..."

"I'm not talking about the movie! I'm talking about you two having your tongues inside each others' mouths!"

Penny frowned. Will shook his head in exasperation.

"Please state the nature of the holographic blabbermouth."

"Hold on, Will Robinson. Just because The Doctor betrayed your confidence and told a dark secret behind your back to someone he knew was likely to overreact, doesn't mean he did anything wrong....what am I saying?"

She sat down between them.

"I'm so sorry. But I worry about the two of you. You're smart, you're tough, you're capable. But when The EMH told me what you did....I was afraid. Can you forgive me?"

Penny nodded.

"Of course. We always have."

Will seconded.

"And we always will, no matter how stuck up and obnoxious you become."

The humor was meant gently, and Judy smiled a bit. For a moment, she was taken aback by it all. Not in her native universe. Pregnant by the man she loved, almost 10 years her senior. Drug and alcohol free--eight years and counting. A new home was being offered by real friends. And the babies she took into her heart as a little girl had just been through one of life's biggest moments--although in a very unorthodox fashion. Her parents--acting like raving lunatics, as far as she could see.

"I think I know why The Doctor told me. Mom and Dad----"

All sibs spoke as one.

"Nuff' said."

Realizing that this was not to be quickly resolved, the three left the holodeck, but forgot to turn off the program. Be'lanna Torres immediately realized this as she entered.

"What kind of stupid fluff do they have playing here? Computer--restart video feature."

An hour later, Be'lanna was still staring at the screen. She wiped away tears, and blew her nose.

"But George worked so hard! Why doesn't he ever leave Bedford Falls? It's just not faiiiirrr!!"

And when she left in a state, Tuvok entered. Needless to say, he did not cry or emote. And yet he did react.

"She should not say that to him. A wife should always recognize her husband."

* * *

Back in the galley, Tom Paris continued wiping off the pasta that Don West had dumped on him.

"Good thing Neelix is serving white sauce."

West was almost snarling.

"That's right, Paris. Just joke away everything. Just like you joked away lives at Caldik Prime--then lied about it. You know, I happen to be a pilot myself. And among my kind, the lowest sort of person is the one who lies to make themselves look good. I got court-martialed, too. But I owned up to everything. Every last thing."

Tom nodded.

"So, to celebrate your honesty, naturally you dumped a food tray on me."

"You, Paris, are so lucky I don't just haul off and belt you one."

"You're right, Major. YOU are lucky."

As things reached a crisis point, Ken Dalby walked in.

"Don! Why didn't you let me finish my story?"

The Major pointed at Tom.

"Because, Ken, I'm here to finish off this lousy stinking liar, who...."

Dalby interrupted.

"....who turned himself in? Who probably would never have been caught if he hadn't done so?"

Don nodded, and looked around.

"Okay, so I'm an over reactive jerk! You wanna make something out of it?"

West sat down, and put his head on the table.

"Tom---please cut a fellow sky-jockey some slack. John has been riding me for weeks, now--and I finally gave out. Okay?"

Paris nodded.

"Okay. But only for that, West. From what I've seen, you've got a great lady, and that ship of yours is a pilot's dream."

Now, Don looked up.

"Are you nuts? All those dials, switches, diodes, swirling lights, endless panel displays...."

Tom seemed to be in heaven.

"Mmmmmm......switches and dials."

Don thought about the power behind each of Voyager's simple controls.

"Greener grass, I guess. Back home, I was stressed like this, I'd putter around in my garage till I calmed down."

Tom smiled.

"Holodeck Program Paris-81. Care for a second hand?"

Don lit up.

"I sure would!"

He saw Judy walk in.

"Hey, honey! Tom reminded me he's got a garage holoprogram. Wanna join me?"

Her mind off both hypocritical parents and amorous siblings, Judy smiled and nodded yes. 

"Are you kidding? A garage? Thanks, Tom."

Tom sat there, having been suddenly invited out of his own suggestion.

"Computer--locate Lieutenant Torres."

He wasn't sure what was building between himself and Be'lanna, but talking to her rarely failed to cheer him up. Just not this time.

"Oh--Tom! He stood by his town! George Bailey knew more about REAL honor than my mother's whole family. I--I have to go and watch it again."

Tom now looked around.

"I-----think I'll get an early start on booting up The Jupiter 2's files. God, I wonder how many people on board have seen that dumb movie?"

In The Captain's quarters, Chakotay gave the answer to that.

"Do you want the moon, Kathryn? Cause I'll set up a tractor beam and pull it out of the sky for you!"

"Chakotay--you give me back my robe."

He did, reluctantly, as they went to meet The Doctors Robinson to figure out how their position in their native space shifted so radically. While there, The Doctor would also reveal startling secrets about two of the guests.

Meanwhile, Kes's best efforts to stay out of sight were ruined by Neelix's obsessive searching. Foolishly, she answered the door to the awkward cabin she and Will Robinson shared.

"So--you are alive. I knew it. Certain viruses are harder to eliminate than others."

"Neelix--I honestly don't understand why you hate me this much. But I thought we would still be friends."

The Talaxian shrugged.

"Neelix is your friend, Kes. But then, you didn't murder him, like you did me. I loved you--loved you so damned much. But you just stood there while Janeway had my life--my very existence-- snuffed out! Should I forgive that? Should I forget that?"

Kes felt her blood run cold. She said a name she never expected to hear again.

"Tuvix?"

* * *

Harry Kim was attempting to explain his findings on The Jupiter 2's trans-quadrant displacement. This might have been easier to do, were he not fighting off the enormous crush he had developed on Doctor Maureen Robinson.

"Tracing the route map you gave us, I've tried to discern if any of the...curves...of the many....legs...of your journey would place you in your....region's....answer to the ..Delta...quadrant."

Kathryn Janeway nodded at her young ensign, while whispering well under her breath.

"Harry, I am going to kill you slowly."

"Now, here is my...view...from...top..to... bottom. You, Doctor, told me that your ..wife...was asleep when that turbulence hit you, three months back."

John nodded, uncomprehending of the would-be predator eyeing his wife. This could have been because he was giving the eye to Captain Janeway.

"That's right, Harry. My Maureen, she sleeps like an angel, no matter what."

Harry was lost for a minute in images he would not have put on the holodeck--ever.

"Um...yeah. Oh yeah. Now, you briefly lost consciousness during the turbulence yourself, correct?"

Maureen jumped in.

"All of us except for Will and Penny. When one of them would begin to faint, the other would wake them back up. Good thing those two are always on top of each other, lately. Although for a while, Penny acted like her brother was beneath her."

Janeway and Chakotay bit down hard, upon hearing Maureen's choice of words regarding her younger children. Then John followed up, and they nearly cracked their teeth.

"That was just part of their little dance, honey. Before too long, they had kissed and made up--and their arguing is now confined to dividing the household duties, Penny's use of the hot water and Will's leaving the toilet seat up on the communal bath area. Otherwise, they get along just fine. They know each other's rhythms--as well as you and I know each other's!"

Being a good first officer, Chakotay had coffee at the ready, which Kathryn quickly gulped.

"Harry--please tell us what you learned from Penny and Will about this circumstance."

Kim nodded.

"Well, I really only spoke to Will, Captain. Penny seemed--kind of misty towards me. I couldn't figure it out."

As one, the four older adults had one thought about Harry Kim.

*You wouldn't.*

Harry continued.

"Now, Will spotted a silvery ship dart out through what he called a 'burp' of energy. While he and Penny tried to revive everyone else, the other ship continued its journey, sent a message, then broke back through to its own native space."

John shrugged.

"Except for our being unable to decipher the message, that was that for the whole incident. Thank Heavens Will and Penny had each other to hold onto, when we all collapsed. I almost think that, left on their own, those two could make it."

Maureen continued the eerie drumbeat.

"Oh, my--Yes. They already make out rather well as it is."

Chakotay was now drinking as much coffee as Kathryn. And he didn't even like coffee. He tried to change the entire conversation.

"Did Doctor Smith lose consciousness during the turbulence?"

John shook his head.

"It's always hard to tell with Smith. For all we know, the turbulence might have awakened him. God Above knows nothing else can."

Harry pointed at his Captain.

"Ma'am--Tuvok and Be'lanna say that they deciphered much of the compressed data stream from that message."

Janeway put in the disk.

"Yes, they did. But why aren't they here?"

Chakotay pulled out a schedule.

"It's the MidNoon Showing. The Colorized Version. Violet's dress is purple, and Mr. Potter's coach is done up in gold trim."

Janeway frowned.

"They should never have made a colorized version. Now, the message."

The face of a bearded Human male came on the screen. He spoke mid-21st Century English. 

"To you who were caught in our wake, we apologize. But you have to understand. Nothing about our journey has gone as planned. We have been forced to use numerous gravimetric wells to propel ourselves forward. Be warned. These jumps of ours leave unstable, invisible portals in our wake. Suggest you do not move forward until scanning for them. Again, forgive us and Godspeed..."

The next words almost made the Robinsons choke.

"...Doctor John Robinson, commanding The Earth ship Jupiter 2, over and out."

John looked at his wife.

"Mirror, Mirror, anyone?"

A stunned Maureen nodded.

"Complete with bearded alternates!"

Chakotay and Janeway had only the slightest idea what they were talking about. But another Voyager crew member would soon find out more.

* * *

Kes faced several dilemmas, of late. The end of her affair with Neelix. The emergence of her psionic abilities, under Tuvok's tutelage. The growing knowledge that the ideas she had of maybe taking up with Tom Paris were rendered moot by the presence of her half-Klingon friend.  
As always, she faced the uniquely Occampan problem of living so short a time among races that lived in multiples of nine years.

But this one had to take the cake. The seemingly insane Neelix who had been stalking her all over the ship was not Neelix at all--sort of.

"Tuvix? How can you be inside of Neelix? You are Neelix--and Tuvok, combined."

Tuvix tilted his borrowed-back head.

"Kes, be logical. A transporter accident can't create a soul--and it can't uncreate it, either. But a life can be ended that way. Have you ever heard of a Starfleet Admiral named Lori Ciana and a Vulcan named Sonak? They died aboard the first Enterprise, almost 100 years ago today. A transporter accident merged them. The bodies were separated--and then came back to agony-filled life. They were phasered out of existence, and were probably thankful for it. Kes--I felt every last nanosecond of my death. And so shall you. I'll merge you with Janeway. Tell me, murderer, would you prefer Kathes, or Kesaryn?"

But as he moved to grab Kes, Tuvix felt a blow to the back. Kes's makeshift roommate, a young hero, had moved in to stop the attacker.

"Get away from her. You get away from her, right now!"

It could have been his innate sense of chivalry. It could have been the fact that he didn't like bullies. It could have been the fact that he was fifteen years old, and had seen Kes without a stitch of clothing on her body. But Will Robinson moved to a fighting stance, and was deadly serious.

"You heard me. Now get away from her."

Tuvix grinned a predator's grin.

"Little man, there are two types of people..."

Will finished for him.

"I know! Sheep and Wolves. Do you crazy people practice that speech or something?"

Tuvix grabbed Will by the throat.

"Or something. For the record, I'm not crazy. But I am going to send you to The Fire Caves."

Batted back by Tuvix, Kes nonetheless tried and failed to recall any Talaxian or Vulcan talk of 'Fire Caves'. She could recall none.

"Now, my little visitor from another universe, you...what did you hit me with?"

Will pushed him down, and smiled.

"A hypo spray the Doctor gave me to help me sleep. Only I gave you a lot more than one dose."

Tuvix began to fade from Neelix's eyes. He glared at Kes.

"This--isn't--over, Witch!"

Kes kicked him in the forehead, no matter whose body it was.

"Oh, I rather think it is."

As he fell unconscious, Kes called security. She also turned to her rescuer.

"Will--I would like to thank you."

"No. I was just doing what you're supposed to do, when someone's in trouble."

To his surprise, she pushed his head back.

"No. I want to thank you. Being Occampan, we don't view age differences the same way other bipedals might. You intrigue me, Will. I could do without you. But I don't want to have to."

Kes was no wanton, or other words to that effect. But a short life plus a true limit of pregnancy possibilities meant that Occampans really did see sex differently. Perhaps because of Will's own hidden nature, Kes indeed found him intriguing. So she took him and kissed him, rather deeply. Then the door opened. It was Will's older sister, Penny. She just as quickly withdrew.

"Okay. Will is getting kissed. My Brother. By a beautiful woman. I should be happy for him. I--am happy for him. Why wouldn't I be happy for him? It's not like I'm at all jea--unhappy for him. It's not like I want to drive a stake into him and that miserable four-year old hussy."

Insult added to injury, when Harry Kim rounded the corner.

"Penny--have you seen your mother? I just wanted to ask her..."

Penny seized the day--and Harry Kim.

"You--are a real jerk."

She then kissed him, long and deep, and then pulled back and stared at Harry. He nodded.

"Oh, boy. I've been doing it again, haven't I?"

In his imagination, the entire deck responded with one voice.

*Yes, Harry. Again.*

Harry then asked a non-holo, friendly, humanoid woman close to his own age a question.

"How about some racquetball?"

It was a start, and Penny took it for all she could.

Inside Will's quarters, Neelix was taken away for treatment, while Kes returned to her restored quarters. Tuvok asked a question.

"Kes, is Will Robinson in good health? He seems--distracted."

"Tuvok, you needn't worry. If there's anything wrong with him, I'll find out later, when we get together."

Will lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He smiled.

"I can't feel my body."

He imagined Kes again, but a detail was off. A very important detail. He opened his eyes.

"Note to imagination. Kes---is not a brunette. Though she would look good as one. God, Please tell me I didn't just say that."

* * *

Almost alone, and to his mind, thankfully away from the walking distraction Be'lanna Torres had become of late, Tom Paris sat in the wonderland of dials that was The Jupiter 2. He was not without any company, though.

"How goes your progress, Tom Paris?"

Tom smiled every time he looked at The Robot. He was just a dream come true.

"It goes, pal. It goes. Tell me, do things get tight around here? I mean, I love this place, but spacey it isn't."

"Things quite often get 'tight' as you put it. The Doctors Robinson feel it. They are not as--active a couple--as they would like to be, if their children could not hear them. Major West and Doctor Judy Robinson----"

Tom raised a finger.

"Doctor Judy?"

"Affirmative. Since she was fifteen."

Tom could see that the Captain had made the right call. With just a little training, The Robinsons would be fantastic additions to the crew. They might even make the difference in getting home.

"Yeah, I picked her as the smartest of the bunch, straight off. She's got the presence." 

"You are incorrect. Will Robinson's various intelligence quotients place him at first, but Penny's skills are far more practically oriented. No member of this crew, planned or accidental, has less than a 155 IQ."

Tom asked the obvious.

"Even Smith?"

"Do yourself a favor, Tom Paris. When in the proximity of Doctor Zachary Smith, neither underestimate nor turn your back on him. He is not the clown he seems."

Tom had almost figured that out on his own. But Robot had spelled it out in very blatant terms.

"Gotcha. But...are Will and Penny alright? I mean, its gotta be rough on two kids. They must argue a lot."

"Again, you are wrong. Such arguments ended soon after our visit to the Amazonian Female Supremacists. Though there was a brief flaring, they no longer even exchange glares. Merely looks of contentment and happiness that the other is present."

At those words, Tom fell silent. Robot became concerned.

"Tom Paris...you seem unwell. Should I summon my friend, your helpful EMH?"

"No, Robot. This is not something I can talk to anyone about. Captain Janeway knows, because my father told her. Maybe Chakotay does, and I don't mind, because he can be trusted."

Robot struck upon an idea.

"You may tell me. Then I will delete the information from the appropriate memory banks."

Tom nodded.

"You'd do that for me?"

"I would. You and your crew have proven worthy of trust. Plus, my banks contain numerous deleted files. I am a sort of cybernetic bartender, I suppose."

Tom wondered, as close as he and Be'lanna were becoming, whether he would ever tell her this--thing.

"There was a girl I knew, back home. I always thought she was a knockout. But she had social problems. Felt awkward. Couldn't find a date. So she asked me out. I felt weird, but I went, and I had fun."

"Did you care for this girl, Tom Paris?"

Tom was the soul of brevity on that one question.

"I loved her. Always did. Always will. But she---presumed on that love. Presumed on it in ways I wouldn't have thought she could or would."

"She was your elder?"

"By two years. The time came when she said she wanted to do more than just hang out together. She said she wanted her first time to be---with me."

"And what did you do?"

Tom closed his eyes.

"I could never tell her no. So our first time was with each other. It was beautiful. Then---she started talking like we would be together always--and that just wasn't possible."

"She took the news poorly?"

"She did. So I told my father. It was the first time he ever slapped me. But he believed me, then he hugged me, and told me some old history. It helped clear things up, a little."

"What of the girl?"

Tom looked down.

"Taken away, so she could get some help. But she hasn't spoken to me since. Called me a traitor."

"What had she done, that she required mental therapy?"

Tom's eyes took on an edge they had not seen since he first lied about Caldik Prime.

"I guess I forgot to mention her name. It was Sadie Paris. Paris by birth. You see, I didn't just speak to my father. I spoke to our father. That is why I am going to do everything I can to help Will and Penny. They won't be able to look at each other the same way if they end up...what's this?"

Even the secret horror from Tom's past was ignored by him, at this point. For what he saw on the transfer-file display just blew his mind. It was terrifically hard to cope with--almost metaphysical. That meant he knew who to call.

"Paris to Chakotay. I kind of need your help, here. I'm downloading the J2's popular culture file--and this is unreal. Can you get here, fast?"

"On my way, Tom. Chakotay out."

Paris looked over at his metallic friend.

"Thanks for listening to all that, pal."

Robot seemed to shrug.

"Listening to all what, Tom Paris?"

Robot then departed, leaving Tom unsure of whether this was a case of deleted files--or a friend who knew how to keep a secret.

"Alright, Mister Paris--just what was so urgent?"

Tom hit the play switch.

"Chakotay--listen to this."

A man's voice spoke familiar words.

"Space--The Final Frontier. These Are The Voyages Of The Starship Enterprise..."

"I recognize that voice from historical holos. That's James Kirk."

Tom shook his head.

"Nope. According to this, those words were spoken by a man name of Shatner. And there's more."

Chakotay nodded.

"Yeah, I'll bet there's more."

Despite the intensely odd nature of Tom's discovery, the XO stopped the replay.

"Tom, Kathryn told me about your family history. It's not her fault. I insisted on knowing why she didn't discipline you about allowing Penny and Will in the holodecks."

Paris shrugged.

"I trust you, Chakotay. You kept some of the more revenge-minded Maquis off me, back when I know your opinion of me was no higher. Besides, you're reluctant to talk much about your own family. I somehow don't see you chit-chatting about mine."

Sensing no insult in Tom's words, Chakotay pressed on.

"Has it affected you? I mean, to have a family member force themselves on you is perhaps the ultimate betrayal."

Paris looked about for any ears to the wall, and then spoke.

"Sadie didn't force herself on me. Despite the slight age difference, I was bigger and stronger than her, and she wasn't a crazy fighter. Did she manipulate me? Yeah. When you're a terminally awkward teenager, and a gorgeous girl tells you she thinks you're gorgeous, you respond."

Chakotay said it outright.

"But your own sister? Tom, it must have thrown you off badly."

"You mean...did I become a womanizer as a result? Did I become an angry rebel, as a result? Did I start considering myself to be such a big loser, that I had to be halfway across the galaxy before I could start over?"

Tom shrugged.

"Nope. Nope. Nope. aaaannnddd....nope. Everything everybody knows about Tom Paris was true before my first-and-only with Sadie---Paris. Maybe the rampant womanizing got more intense--and I did feel a need to not just flirt anymore. But what happened wasn't the problem. That it happened was--off-putting--to be certain. But I was with someone I love. Someone beautiful. I could have stayed with her for the rest of my life, and accepted every last bit of scorn."

"Then why did you turn her in?"

"Because. I could have stayed with her the rest of my life, and thought nothing of it. I'm an explorer, Chakotay. I want to pilot my ship through all the crazy places. The real betrayal would have been keeping to the nest, like she wanted. It's not how Humans do things. We go out. We don't pull in. It was hard, after they took her to Tantalus. I ached for someone with whom the extent of my deep physical interaction was supposed to be wild tickling and punches in the arm. Funny thing is, my father was never more understanding and patient with me than at that time."

Chakotay remembered the records.

"Yes. Because history was repeating itself. Almost."

Tom went for the whole ugly story.

"My Dad had a sister, my Aunt Nicolette. They were very close, always."

"Was she older or younger?"

"Twin. In fact, her husband, my Uncle Jack Locarno, was my Mom's twin brother. That's why my may-he-burn-in-Hell cousin Nick and I look so much alike."

Chakotay strained a bit, but then made the connection.

"Oh, yeah. He was the one who was the ringleader on that Kolvoord Starburst Flight stunt, at The Academy. The one that Picard exposed, when a cadet was killed."

Tom raised a finger.

"The one that Picard's protégé exposed. I wrote the guy a letter, congratulating him. With Nick, it was so easy just to throw in and do what he says. Wesley Crusher may or may not be the huge geek everyone says, but he learned what I took years to. That Nick Locarno is a snake."

"Tom...he did allow himself to be expelled from The Academy, taking full responsibility for his Squadron."

Paris wasn't buying.

"He also re-applied when the absolute ban was lifted, and was promptly reinstated with almost all of his credits. His squad didn't fare so well. I don't know about Crusher, but along with Albert, the other two are dead. One was a suicide. Right before we left. But Nick's history. I got him good, not long before Captain Janeway showed up."

Tom 'pshawed' with his hand.

"Anyway, my Aunt Nickie never liked my mother. Considered her an impediment to her relationships with both her husband and my father. Suffice it to say--she was nuts. Jack left her, and Nick, though he was already a spoiled brat. So then she got ideas about my father. Not physical ones--but functional ones."

"Functional?"

"Yeah. See, her notion was that they function as a couple in every way but the most intimate. They would have people, but never stay with them. Stop me if I begin to make you nauseous."

Chakotay indeed chose to sit down.

"Your parents' marriage was troubled, I take it?"

Tom smiled.

"Heh. No! It's always been great. Those two? They're a marriage counselor's wet dream. Which is the major, though not the only reason, Dad turned Nickie down flat."

"Which she didn't take very well."

"To say the least. Chakotay, she was Starfleet, too. Captain of a Soyuz-Class. She had so much. Well, once during a visit from my parents, she disconnects an unused dilithium crystal and plants it on my mother. Of course, no Paris can lie successfully. So the last time my father saw her---it was in Auckland. She spit in his face. Later that month, we got word an inmate had stabbed her. Nick either wouldn't or couldn't respond. He found about five girls he knew and was skinny-dipping within sight of the funeral procession. So, once again, the worst enemy our family has---is ourselves."

Chakotay could easily tell worse tales, handed down from European colonial times in The New World. But somehow, these things always sounded sleazier when spoken of one small family, rather than a tribe or outpost.

"Tom---tell me all about 'Star Trek'."

* * *

Tuvok sought to interrogate the supposedly-possessed Neelix. As one might expect, neither jailer nor jailed were in a very patient mood.

"Your claims are, you understand, extremely suspect. I cannot believe that you are the being formerly known as Tuvix. Since together, Neelix and I made up Tuvix."

Behind the sick-bay force-field, Neelix grinned.

"Hey, I guess there's a little Tuvix in all of us."

"Such non sequiturs might be answers, coming from Mister Neelix. From you, they are merely non sequiturs. Since I am told that Tuvix had a rather dry wit, this furthers my theory that I am in fact not speaking to his katra."

"Isn't it funny how being killed just kills your sense of humor?"

Tuvok moved to end this in a logical manner.

"Tell me something about myself that only one such as you claim to be would know."

'Tuvix' tapped his fingers.

"What to say, what to say? Ohhh--I know. How about that girl you were obsessed with, as a youngster? The one who got you banished to a monastery for a time? Boy, were your parents ever worried! Not good enough? How's about the report Sulu made you tear up, chastising him about pursuing the murderers of Doctor McCoy's wife? Now THAT burned your desert-born hide---oops---lunar-born hide."

Tuvok tried hard not to look stunned. Neelix's grin faded.

"I was once a part of you, Mister Vulcan. Body and Soul. I know absolutely everything you know. Including about Kes's future past--or is that past imperfect? You should kill that little cow now, before she has the chance to..."

Captain Janeway, who had been listening in, now spoke up.

"Computer, deactivate EMH and lockout reactivation until I say so!"

Before The Doctor had a chance to react, he faded out. Janeway then altered his program to erase any references to Kes's future--just as she had done before. Neelix/Tuvix tsked.

"Oh, Captain. Next thing you know you'll have to delete him entirely. That'd be like--murder. But you're good with that, aren't you?"

Janeway was not impressed.

"I've killed to protect my crew. I imagine I'll kill again. But I am no murderer. You, on the other hand, have harried, stalked, and tried to murder poor Kes, who was the most torn about the separation procedure."

"So she sold her soul cheaply. That's not my problem. You all are. You're alive, and I hope to change that fact--soon."

Tuvok noted that this being had very different mannerisms, and was a great deal less furtive than Neelix. The suggestion of an excitable nature combined with one that was decidedly less so. Seeming proof of the being's otherwise suspect claim. The Vulcan tried to regain his ground.

"Tuvix---Will Robinson says, that when he attempted to stop you from murdering Kes, you spoke of sending him to 'The Fire Caves'. That is a Bajoran reference. Why did you use it?"

'Tuvix' shrugged.

"I've spent years studying the Bajoran religion--or you have."

Tuvok would never smile, but his demeanor now became greatly relaxed. Whoever this was, he had him.

"That is a blatant lie. I had to look up the reference, and my memory is excellent. While I respect the faith of my fellow crewmembers from Bajor, I have never had any real interest in knowing of it. I did not know, for example, of the Prophets' enemies, The Pagh Wraiths, till I did my search. Odd, since the ancient Bajoran traders seeded that cult as far away as..."

Tuvix, or whoever he was, exploded.

"ENOUGH!!! I am who I say I am. I lived on Voyager, and I died on Voyager, as you murdered me. You left me behind, Tuvok. You left me to rot. But I came back. I...we....were part of you. Part of this crew. But because of what I was, you felt the need to destroy me. Did you expect me to forgive and forget? You want any more information, you come and you get it the hard way."

Tuvok would not sigh, either. But his mouth opened as if to. He had thought it would come to this. It always seemed to.

"Captain--our precautions?"

Kathryn nodded.

"Computer--activate emergency holographic security staff."

Ten well-armed guards appeared around the Sick-Bay. She pointed about.

"Whoever you are, understand this. This place is chock-full of holo-emitters. You couldn't disrupt them all in time. My advice is that you don't try."

The phony grin came back.

"Hey, Katie---always happy to oblige."

The field came down, and Tuvok and two of the faux-guards entered. As Neelix stood still,  
Tuvok began the process.

"Our minds are one....."

The meld was a quiet one. To Kathryn's surprise and relief, the possessed Neelix did not attempt to escape. Tuvok spoke softly, while it went on.

"I am indeed encountering my own thoughts, from another perspective. How odd."

Neelix/Tuvix snorted.

"Yeah. Odd. That's my life all over."

Janeway definitely had her doubts about Neelix's claim. Even though the Doctor had ruled out true insanity, some things did not add up at all. Like 'Tuvix's' speech patterns. Unwanted death might make one angry, but even allowing for Neelix's influence, this being spoke far too colloquially to suit her.

"Captain---this is unbelievable! I am encountering-----AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"

Both Tuvok and Neelix fell down, writhing in seeming agony.

"Computer--Reactivate EMH! Janeway Hector Five Aster."

"Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

The Doctor had both men up and around. Neelix looked genuinely confused.

"Captain? Doctor? Mister Vulcan?"

Tuvok opened his eyes.

"I was largely successful, Captain. Mister Neelix--what do you last recall?"

"Er--well, I asked Kes to a private dinner, and she said no. I felt--very angry--and I went to bed. It feels like I've been asleep forever."

"Literally inaccurate, but figuratively understandable. Mister Neelix, you were under the influence of our former conjoined self."

"Tuvix? But how is that possible, if he was us together?"

Janeway nodded.

"That's what I'd like to know. Tuvok, you all but declared Tuvix's real presence a complete impossibility."

"My error, Captain, lay in not considering every possibility, no matter how remote. In fact, our nemesis was Tuvix. He continued to exist in a sort of bubble state. My own disciplines expelled that bubble some time ago, without my even realizing it. In Mister Neelix's case, he lacked those techniques, and the residue of our briefly conjoined katras became stuck, if you will, in his psychic windpipe. But it has now been cleared."

Neelix nodded.

"Right towards the end, there--I saw some images. Is Kes all right?"

Janeway smiled, glad to have the Talaxian back to his old self.

"She's fine. We hid her for a time in Penny Robinson's guest quarters, after the explosions."

Tuvok shook his head.

"Captain--Kes was in Will Robinson's guest quarters. Not that he offered complaint."

Kathryn's face drained of color.

"Oh, John and Maureen are going to kill me." 

The Doctor shrugged.

"Why? I'm certain Will was a perfect gentleman, within reason for a fifteen-year old boy."

Neelix answered.

"Doctor--Kes doesn't believe in private modesty. In her own quarters, she walks around bare---everything."

The Doctor took this in.

"Well, at least that should keep Will's mind off of kissing his sister.....Did I say that or think that?"

Janeway now felt faint. But, she was glad that she hadn't told the Doctor about Kes's future. He was, it seemed, a big wide fat holographic blabbermouth.

Tuvok got up.

"Captain, I will escort Mister Neelix back to his quarters, and fill him in on what has happened in his absence."

The EMH motioned.

"Very good idea. Then, you both get some rest--preferably not in Kes's quarters---or Penny Robinson's."

They left, and Janeway sat down, thinking about the troubled guest siblings.

"Doctor, how far have they gone together?"

Gulping, the suddenly loose-lipped EMH gave forth.

"No further. Captain, they're good children. They recognize the dangers in such behavior. They have a strong moral base. They'll get past this."

"That's if—if-- they remain here, where there's lots of prospects. Funny how so few have paired off. But if the Doctors Robinson decide to leave? What choice will those two have, when the loneliness really hits home?"

A question for which The EMH's vast files contained no answer at all.

Inside Neelix's quarters, Tuvok simply stared at himself in the mirror. He now sported a grin a mile wide.

"Oh, this is perfect. And my thoughts- -they're cleared of pain and anguish. It's like a miracle."

Neelix was frowning, almost snarling.

"You want to keep that miracle? Then stick to the plan, and act like Tuvok would. Janeway must suspect nothing. Remember--she left all of us to die. That can never be forgotten."

"I suppose. It's just so hard to remember. I didn't even realize I'd been left behind. Why can't I remember?"

Neelix grabbed Tuvok, and shoved him against the wall.

"YOU don't have to remember a damned thing! Tuvok betrayed you, just like he betrayed us all when this started. Just like Chakotay betrayed me. Did he or did he not say that he would show you a path away from pain?"

"Yes, but..."

"But nothing! You died...in pain. As did I. As did we all. Now, the Captain who decided on damned Starfleet regs above our lives and the crew that fell to mush around her will die...in pain."

Tuvok pushed back.

"I'm stronger than you. Don't touch me again."

Neelix nodded.

"If we have an understanding, then I don't need to."

Tuvok left, his eyes a bit more dilated than usual. Neelix pulled up a star-map.

"That moron. She's taking us right into Borg space. You haven't changed, Captain. But you will. Oh--how you will change. Change--is good."

He then opened a drawer, and pulled out a chart with some odd symbols on it.

"I Speak To The True Gods, The Dwellers Contained, Who Will Be Released. The Ones Who Showed The Knowers How To Live Past Living. The Release Will Come. The Book Will Be Read. You Will Show Me The Way, And This Voyager Will Set The Temple Of Your Enemies To Burn. Then Shall The Universe Be Cleansed By Fire! I Speak Your Many Names---Filaag, Mofsto, Etaragan, Zarathos, Gidrah, Adimi- --PAGH WRAITHS!!"

He looked out his window, and smiled.

On the Bridge, Harry Kim stared at odd readings.

"It's like a wormhole opened, and just closed again. But it was nowhere we wanted to go, anyway."

Samantha Wildman, filling in for a flu-ridden crewman, shook her head.

"Where did it lead?"

Harry re-checked his findings.

"Hard to tell. Likely somewhere in The Gamma Quadrant."

* * *

Tom began to explain.

"In the Robinsons' native universe, a show premiered on September 8, 1966. It was called Star Trek, and it lasted five years. Now, three of those years jibe identically with the most noted missions undertaken by the crew of The original USS Enterprise under the command of James T. Kirk."

Chakotay was floored by this concept, but kept up with it, using what his family had taught him about reality's basic unreliability.

"What about the other two years?"

Tom punched up some of what he had collated.

"Very uneven. Now, these jibe with some of their lesser-known missions. But---do you recognize this face?"

A dark-haired young boy-man appeared onscreen.

"Can't say that I do, Tom."

"His name is Craig Hundley. But transfer him to our universe; add about a century, and endless cadets worried about their xenobiology grade."

Chakotay gulped.

"That boy is Professor Kirk? You could have fooled me."

"It gets better. The TV Network running the show decided it needed more interest for young people. So Kirk's nephew Peter came on board to live. Within that fourth season, he even got a position on the Bridge. And this show was supposed to be serious science fiction."

"You have that right. Nothing ruins a serious narrative like a cute kid who's smarter than the main characters."

Tom chuckled.

"It got so bad with the fans, that they killed him off at the end of that same fourth season. But now, the fans turned around again--and demanded him back! So at the actors' suggestion, the dead one was a duplicate--and when the kid was brought back, he was just a kid. Helped out--but no ship-saving. People loved it, except for Hundley, who was typecast."

"So that's all of Kirk's career they covered?"

"Noper. In 1976, a show began called Phase Two. Ran for ten years. Began with the V'Ger N'sa incident, ended with the Treaty Of Khitomer. Of course, after twenty years, the actor William Shatner was tired of the role. So the writers 'came up with' The Enterprise-B-Nexus-Harriman disaster. Bummed a lot of viewers out. Then came 1988. And The Next Generation."

Chakotay sighed, and nodded. No point backing out now.

"Which involved?"

"Well, I give them credit. With all the thousands of ships in the fleet, they chose The Enterprise-D. I mean, Picard defined that era, right?"

"Absolutely. Ro Laren was a part of my crew, before The Caretaker. But she overslept that morning, and Seska took her place. Talk about fate? That is fate accomplice, accessory, and convicted."

When it came to Seska Marlis, Paris knew better than to pursue the subject.

"Yeah, well, this series ends with Veridian Three--which I only read about the day Captain Janeway came to see me."

Chakotay got up, and rubbed his head.

"You were right to call me, Tom. All that is quite..."

"Commander, there are two more series."

Chakotay sat back down.

"How did I know you were going to say something like that?"

"I know. The first one is called Deep Space Nine. Bajor, and all that situation, after the Cardies pulled out. The second---well, understand, these two were deleted, so all I have are scraps and a description from the critical journal of that era, 'TV Guide'. Ready?"

"Paris, don't push me."

Tom shrugged.

"I'm not. But this one is going to push you, believe me."

"Sorry. But as often as I deal with the metaphysical, that's how hard it hits me when I'm not expecting it."

"Just be ready, Chakotay. Cause I wasn't."

Sensing that Paris was deadly serious, Chakotay centered himself.

"Do it."

"And I quote: 'This new Star Trek series seizes upon The Maquis storyline running in both The Next Generation And Deep Space Nine. A Federation Ship is sent out to pursue a Maquis ship in The Wild Badlands...."

Chakotay interrupted. He was sarcastic in tone.

"How dramatic. We all know how rarely that happened."

Tom smiled, and continued, while Chakotay sipped some tomato juice.

"...where both ships are taken to The Delta Quadrant by an entity called The Caretaker."

In a savage instant, the front port windows of The Jupiter 2 were stained with red. Chakotay had spit out his tomato juice.

His mouth felt numb.

"K-athryn may just want to see---this."

In her ready room, that same individual received a report from The EMH.

"What have you found, Doctor?"

Expecting his usual banter, Captain Janeway only half-paid attention.

"Well, Doctor Zachary Smith has a second personality, Robot B-9 has a holographic matrix at his core, the Jupiter 2 is reverse-engineered from Alpha Centauran technology, Penny and Will are not yet sexually active, but nor are they the Robinsons' natural children, and while Human, neither are they native to any Earth. And Naomi got her first tooth."

Janeway looked up.

"I'll have a quarter beamed in from the tooth fairy. Is that all, Doctor?"

The EMH gave her two minutes before the rest hit.


	7. Chapter Six Nothing Changes

**Chapter Six - Nothing Changes**

RELATIVE DATES: JUNE 15, 2002/MAY 1,  
2375

PLACE OF RECHARGE: PERSONAL ALCOVE, EARTHSHIP JUPITER 2, CURRENTLY IN THE SHUTTLEBAY OF THE FEDERATION SHIP, USS VOYAGER

BEGIN 22-HOUR CYCLE

RECORDING UNIT: ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL UNIT, ROBOT B-9

As I emerged from my alcove, I saw that Tom Paris was still sorting through the many and varied files of The Jupiter 2. He seemed even more interested in the files on Earth's popular culture than our files of exploration.

"Oh, hey, Robot. I found another anomaly in the pop culture base. This show called M*A*S*H*? In our universe, all these people were quite real. A good couple of them changed history. Some of them are even still—ehhh, don't mention that part."

Tom refers to my supposed erasure of private information. In fact, no such erasure is possible. I merely keep all such knowledge in an inaccessible file. I may view it, but never reveal it. This is a precaution, since in theory, true information erasure can never totally be achieved. If I erased these files, I might think them safe when they are not. In case of invasive procedures, I am capable of magno-sealing my innards, and performing a final wipe of all systems.

Taking my leave of Tom Paris, I then proceeded to begin my daily tour of this wonderful starship. In my travels, I passed Be'lanna Torres and Commander Chakotay, speaking in fact about Tom Paris.

"So you two are actually going out on a date? Well, I'll be renouncing my Maquis beliefs, now. I've heard everything!"

Be'lanna Torres seemed a great deal more hesitant about the subject.

"Well, I wouldn't precisely call it a date. But he did rook me. I once bet him that he could never impress me with any of his lines. But he did."

At times, the relationship I have observed between Tom Paris and Be'lanna Torres is in keeping with the normal human mating ritual. At other times, though, it much more resembles the gentle sibling byplay between Will and Penny Robinson.

"So what line did he use?"

"That I reminded him of his sister. Did you know that I bear an eerily striking resemblance to Sadie Paris? I mean, take away the Klingon parts, of course. But he showed me a picture. Now what do you think of that?"

Notably, Commander Chakotay said nothing, at that time. He merely chose to smile politely, and walk off. I can only surmise that he knows of Tom Paris's one-time liaison with his sister, Mercedes 'Sadie' Paris. It is also easily surmised that Be'lanna Torres does not know of this. Given my knowledge of human relations, I must consider her being made aware of this fact an inevitability. Her probable reaction? 92% probability that it will not be pleasant.

I moved on, and observed Harry Kim speaking with Kes. It is unsurprising that Harry Kim has struck up a relationship with Penny Robinson. Humans very often mate with those who remind them of family. Harry Kim shares a great many personality traits with Will Robinson. Likewise, Kes does not seek the limelight, which often goes to others. She is a being of quiet power and intelligence, sharing many personality traits with Penny Robinson.

"Oh, hey Robot! Good to see you. I'm glad Tom is too wrapped up in those files to monopolize your time. Listen, I want to hear all about those wish machines and shopping devices you encountered, ok? That sort of tech could be a real boost to working past our replicator limitations."

"That's good, Harry. But Robot has to first go and see The Doctor. He and Captain Janeway will be waiting for you in about an hour. Just as I'll have someone waiting for me."

At this point, the conversation moved past me, despite my continuing presence. I am not unused to this occurrence.

"Kes, are you and Will Robinson really an item? I mean, the kid is fifteen years old."

"What are you saying, Harry? That I shouldn't date older men?"

"It's not the same thing for Humans. Suppose his parents object?"

"Then I'll try to talk to them. Will has a powerful mind. So does his sister. He intrigues me. The thought of being his first lover intrigues me. When I'm gone--in as little as six years--there will be a young man who will always see me as I was. Besides, there's another level to all this. Tell me you haven't noticed how he and Penny act around each other."

"You don't think they...."

"No. But something happened. Something awkward. Maybe it was as innocent as a shower door opening. Maybe one of them got more lonely than the other and made a proposition. All I do know is that they might leave here, and they see we two as an opportunity to taste an aspect of life that their inborn senses of honor, morality and obedience tell them that they cannot help each other with." 

Harry Kim's sweat glands then activated, and my sensors felt his blood pressure rise significantly.

"So. If I don't help Penny out, I could mess up her relationship with Will. Thanks loads, Kes. Pressure to perform is all I needed. Tell me, was this how you chose to break it off with Neelix? Cause it would sure as hell explain the bombing!"

As Harry Kim stormed off, I took the look on Kes's face to mean she was withholding several choice remarks.

Accessing Holodeck 9, I awaited certain instructions from Major West. He and Judy Robinson had apparently had their own discussion, also somewhat heated in nature.

The garage they were working in seemed very untidy.

"Judy, willya let it go? I'm not answering!"

"It's an honest question. You don't need to be afraid of it."

"Like fun I don't! That is the single most dishonest question a woman can ask a man!"

"Would you mind telling me what is so damned dishonest about asking you if you'd like to see other women while we're on Voyager?"

The Major then pointed, despite his prior knowledge of Judy Robinson's dislike of that habit.

"I'll tell you what's so dishonest about it. There is no good answer. There is no answer that doesn't make the man seem like a dog or a liar. If I say yes, I'm scum, and I'll find out you were testing my fidelity. If I say no, you'll say that all men want that, and I'll find out you were testing my honesty. Judy, I love you. But the only thing you're gonna test is my patience. Cause I'm not walking in. Uh-uh. No way."

Perhaps sensing his position, Major West lowered his finger. Judy Robinson raised her voice.

"I'm sorry you think I'm that petty, Don. All I wanted for you and for me was a chance to have what we haven't had for five years--a selection. If Dad and Mom decide we're going to leave here, we'll never know what it would have been like to have choices, unless we look around now."

I have not often observed Judy and The Major fighting. But when I have, the fights are significantly audible, and their overall consequences are not at all quick to be resolved.

"So YOU want to look around? You're pregnant with my kid, we have your morally nutsy parents trying to kill it, but you want to do the singles' scene. Well, go ahead, Broadway Lady. Raise those legs high--or whatever else it is you do with those legs."

"You PIG! I'm trying to help us not be so limited! I'm trying to not have us be stuck with each other. I mean, I've often thought about what it would be like to have other men available. Are you going to stand there and tell me you haven't thought about having other women?"

The Major's face took on a tone of sober seriousness. The last time my files saw this face, it was thought that Doctor John Robinson had died.

"That's right. Since you and I started, the only thing I've thought about was how lucky I was. I was stupid. I thought you felt the same way."

On occasion, I have noted that Humans will say anything to break a silence. This very often leads to the fabled 'words that cannot be taken back.'

"If this is a demonstration of the real you, then I suppose maybe we were both stupid."

She left, then. To clear his mind, the Major gave me my assignment. It was an obvious one.

"Robot, as soon as Tuvok releases Smith from the Brig, you keep an eye on him. Janeway's given us permission to tap the non-living quarters security scans. This time, I wanna catch that miserable worm red-handed."

As The Major continued to endlessly tighten a bolt, I departed to speak with the two Doctors Robinson. At the door to their quarters, I could already tell that the incivility affecting the ship had traveled far and wide.

As I entered, The Doctors Robinson at first took no notice of me, so deep and dark was their conversation.

"Honey, don't turn me into the heavy, here. Now, we both agreed that Judy having that baby is a bad idea. Yes, this solution runs counter to our beliefs. But this isn't some theoretical talk about population control back on Earth. This is real life. Our lives."

Maureen Robinson then revealed something of which I had been unaware.

"John, I said we'd present a united front to Judy and Don. I never said we'd make our suggestion into an order. But by the time you started, that's where it was. I'm not at all comfortable with Judy having an abortion. In fact I'm disgusted by the thought. And the only thought that ever disgusted me more than an abortion at the mother's demand was one made mandatory by some authority figure. Are we the crew of The Jupiter 2 or peasants in Mao's China?"

Doctor John Robinson then made a remark he would soon regret.

"Heh. Kathryn said you were going to get just like this. First time I pull in the reins, and here you are, crying dictatorship."

"Do yourself a favor, John. In my presence, neither quote nor emulate Captain Kathryn Janeway. She strikes me as a brittle, difficult kind of person. And as your wife, I don't like the way you speak about her."

The facial muscles on John Robinson's face indicated disbelief at this accusation.

"I can't believe you're jealous of her. Maureen, she's like one of the boys to me. A fellow Commander, to whom I can relate. Someone with whom I share common interests and a common cause. Someone I could take a few notes from, when it comes to getting a ship home."

"She---is NOT one of the boys. And while you two were chit-chatting about putting up with us peons, I talked with Chakotay. He's a tower of a man. So incredibly patient, and so in tune with the underpinnings of what it's all about. Oh- and one of the things we talked about was partners who forget and act like it's all their show."

"Enough---enough about all that. I am this mission's Commander. I decide certain things. How DARE you cut me off in front of Kathryn? You aren't at all seriously considering staying on a starship from another time and quantum reality?"

"Yes. Because here, my daughter can give me grandchildren without debate. Here, Will and Penny don't have to cry themselves to sleep, knowing there's no one there for them. Here, we have water, food. I've heard tales of this ship being damaged or crippled, and they still sound like great days to me. Plus, don't deny that we two couldn't use the breathing space, John. We both have felt it. The isolation, the sameness."

John Robinson turned to leave.

"I don't know about staying. But right now, that breathing space seems like a pretty good idea." 

"Typical. He won't raise his voice except to shout orders. Robot, I have an assignment for you, for later today."

I explained that Major West had already given me an important task.

"Well, I don't care. Despite what Don and John think, I'm second-in-command. So I'm telling you what to do first. If there's time, then you can do Don's little errand."

I complied, of course.

"Good. Now, the very instant Mister Tuvok releases Doctor Smith from The Brig, I want you to keep an eye on him. Captain Janeway gave us permission to tap any security scan except those in living quarters. I intend to have us stay aboard Voyager, but I'd like to find the evidence that does not include Doctor Smith. Knowing him, that shouldn't be too hard. By the way, what was the task Don set out for you?"

As I left, I explained that this task was no longer necessary, and she left it at that.

In the hall, I was soon passed by a furious Be'lanna Torres.

"I'll kill him! I'll KILLLLL Him!"

Chasing after her was a worried Commander Chakotay.

"Be'lanna! I told you that in strictest...Be'lanna!" 

I surmised that Chakotay had informed Be'lanna Torres of Tom Paris's family history. But since my next stop was Sickbay, I could only guess at what followed next.

* * *

Tom Paris closed another file on the late 20th Century of the Robinsons' native Earth. He saw Be'lanna Torres come through the shuttle deck doors, and thought she had come to remind him of their date.

"Okay, pretty lady! Just give me another hour, and I'll...."

Torres slapped him.

"Hey! What'd I do?"

She affected a look of mock-sympathy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Tom. Weren't you and Sadie into bondage and discipline? Or were you satisfied just scoring with your own sister, you pathetic PERVERT?!!"

Chakotay rushed in too late, and saw that the damage had been done. Tom's glare told him some of what had happened. Tom spoke out the rest.

"You---traitor."

Chakotay tried to defend himself, as well as he could. But in truth, he knew he hadn't a moral leg to stand on.

"Tom, please. I didn't know she was going to react this way."

Paris merely shrugged.

"How the hell does it matter how she reacted to the news? You still had no right to tell her anything, Commander. No right."

Fighting mad, Torres got back into it.

"What about my rights? First, you snooker me by saying how I look like your sister. But it's only from someone else that I find out the slimy truth. You mangy, scummy pedophilic---"

Chakotay cut her off.

"Be'lanna, Sadie Paris was older than him, and the initiator of what happened between them. Tom turned her and himself in, when she wanted to continue. In court tests, she was determined to have problems--real problems. She never forgave Tom for speaking up."

If his explanation seemed to calm Torres, it did nothing for Paris, who glared at both of them.

"Yeah. People in my family tend not to forgive. Kind of like me with you two. Now I'll ask both of you to leave."

Torres turned, and shook her head.

"How big of the grand deceiver, to forgive the two of us. What about how I remind you of a person you should never have been with?"

Paris shook his head.

"But that's just it, Be'lanna. There is a resemblance. Strong in some parts of your face. More than that, though, is who you are. Since we called a truce, I saw a lot of Sadie in you. The fun Sadie. The stable Sadie. The brilliant Sadie. My best friend growing up. Now, though? You look to me like Sadie did before they took her to Tantalus. Ugly. Shouting accusations that you have no right to make, and acting like you're the wounded party--when you're the one who started in. Broke--the trust. Shattered something special."

With Be'lanna feeling all of a centimeter tall, Tom turned and looked at Chakotay.

"I thought you had honor. I don't know you."

"Tom, please. You should have told Be'lanna this from the start. You shouldn't have kept it from her, especially if she resembles Sadie."

Tom almost exploded, but kept it all in his eyes.

"Chakotay---that part of my life is not first date or sort-of first date material. That's 5th or 10th Anniversary material-maybe. But you had no right. Neither of you did, but you sure talked a blue streak, didn't you? Now leave. Maybe I can't order you to--but I think it's a really good idea. Maybe the very best of all possible ideas. Understood?"

Torres looked repentant.

"Tom--can we talk about all this on tonight's date? I think that's still a good idea."

"Be'lanna--you floor me. You mean you'd go out with a pathetic perverted pedophile? Gee---I don't know if I want to be seen with a woman who'd be seen with me."

She balled her hand into a fist. Paris shrugged. 

"Go ahead. How could it hurt any worse than what you just said to me?"

Dropping her head, Be'lanna walked away. Chakotay found that he couldn't meet Tom's gaze.

"Just please let me tell Kathryn myself. Alright?"

Not receiving an answer, Chakotay walked out, as well. Tom closed the ramp and the port windows to the Jupiter 2, and fought back rage and tears in equal amounts. A gentle voice spoke to him.

"He shouldn't have betrayed your trust, and she shouldn't have come at you like that. Is that problem why you tried to help Will and Penny?"

Tom saw that Judy Robinson had been in her quarters the whole time. In her eyes there was not even a hint of judgment.

"Yeah. That--kind of--betrayal can ruin things between--family."

She nodded, and looked beautiful while she did.

"Tom, Don and I broke up. That being the case, I find myself finding you very, very attractive. That you tried to help my sister and brother makes you damned near irres--"

Tom grabbed her, and he kissed her, long, and hard, and he did not stop there. Nor did Judy.

* * *

My sensors indicated a chastised Be'lanna Torres and Chakotay headed in the opposite direction whence they came. Commander Chakotay in fact, headed for Sickbay, there to meet with Captain Janeway. Since I was in no hurry, I stopped instead to see Will and Penny, whose welfare concerns me more of late than ever.

I entered, and they stopped talking. I know this is because they regard me as a real being. This is part of why I love these two best of all.

"Can we do something for you, Robot?"

I explained to Penny that I was merely checking in on them. In times past, I would have had to break up an argument or even a fist fight. Now, peace reigns between the two. Oddly, I find that my memory banks wax nostalgic for those earlier times.

"Look, Robot. We like you and all. But Penny and I have some things to discuss. And we'd feel kind of funny talking about them in front of other family members."

To Will Robinson, I am and always have been a family member. I need little else. I asked if there was any task I may perform for them, before I leave. Penny nodded.

"Now that you mention it. Robot, secure permission from Captain Janeway to tap into the security cams--except for the ones in the living quarters. When Mister Tuvok releases Doctor Smith, I'd like you to keep an eye on him."

Will nodded as well.

"Please just keep him out of trouble, Robot. He may be a pain, but I guess he's family, too."

For sake of his peace of mind, I chose not to correct Will in this instance, and merely left. I surmise that they then spoke of social concerns. This has been much on their minds of late.

* * *

Penny began.

"When you're doing it with Kes, there may be certain things you'll want to do that she might not."

Will nodded.

"So I back off?"

She shook her head.

"No. We--might never get another chance like this. You push. Don't force her to do anything. But beg. Plead. Make up excuses. Lie about how it has health benefits. In her case, you might even try telling her she'll live longer---but keep that as an absolute last resort. Remember, she sought you out. And if---it---starts to hurt, remember--we'll probably have plenty of time to rest up. So keep going as long as you can."

Will began his portion.

"Guys get distracted. We get pulled away. Now Harry Kim looks like a worrier. He's probably afraid he left his iron on, back on his Earth. You gotta make him see you as his whole world. This way, if the Captain gave him a hard time, if Tom's been razzing him, whatever--it's not your concern. No rain checks. No work he's gotta catch up on. No just remembered a prior commitment. You. You and you alone. If you have to, put his hand on your chest. It's one of those half-tender, half-sexy things. Drove some of the older neighborhood guys nuts back home. Until you're both firmly in the sack, it's all on you to keep him focused."

She half-smiled.

"Thanks. Do you want me to review our common checklist?"

He pointed at the padd.

"Good idea."

"Ok. One--compliment them. Pump them up on words. Two--no holds barred. Anything goes. Three--size does not matter. We are both perfectly adequate."

He shrugged.

"I'll be okay, there. Every other male on board is an adult. But you--promise you'll forget about Judy? I think you're just fine, and apparently so does Harry. But I know you, Sis. Every time I see you and Judy together in your nightgowns, you start arching your back. We're not porn stars, okay? Promise me?"

She closed her eyes, and laughed.

"I never even realized anyone saw me do that. Okay, so I'm not a Cheerleader. At least I obey gravity. But don't think I'm just letting you off. No stopping, Will."

"Huh?"

"Just what I said. When you're at it alone, I keep hearing you stop, like you expect Mom and Dad to walk in on you. Will, they're asleep. A little grunting is not gonna rouse those two. You'll be in Kes's cabin---it'll be locked. No one will know where you are, except in an emergency. Little brother, it's time we started using our pillows to rest our heads, and nothing more."

"Okay. But just make sure he treats you right."

"And you make sure she treats you right. Hopefully---we'll be sore tomorrow."

Suddenly, they hugged each other, and jumped up and down. They spoke as one, smiling and giddy.

"We're gonna score!!!"

* * *

Thinking she had found Tom on the holodeck, Be'lanna opened up the garage program.

"Tom, we have to talk. You can't let my big mouth----"

But the only one there was Don West, a few sheets to the wind, courtesy of a bottle he held.

"Heyyy, pretty-lady? You want some?"

Feeling disgusted with herself over possibly wrecking her friendship with Paris, Be'lanna just shook her head and sat down.

"This stuff better be strong."

Feeling disgusted with himself over realizing that he really didn't know Judy as well as he thought, Don put his head on Torres' shoulder.

"You remind me of the girls back in the oooold neighborhood, before I changed my name from Westorellini. All the ones I grew up with. Pretty, tough---an crazy!"

Be'lanna thought of her colony upbringing, and of the rugged, handsome--and stupid boys that were her friends and imaginary marriage partners, when she would dare to think of such things. She took another swig, and then kissed Don, indicating she wanted to start something.

"Just so long as you don't tell me that I remind you of your sister."

The turn that followed did not follow the pattern of a classic sibling relationship between Torres and West. It more resembled Pon Farr.

* * *

I entered the Sickbay. Captain Janeway and Commander Chakotay were present. My new friend, the Emergency Medical Hologram, was notably not so.

"Hello, Robot. Just sit tight. The Robinsons will be here, soon enough."

I chose not to correct Captain Janeway in her apparent belief that the Doctors Robinson would be arriving together. There was in fact the possibility of their marriage ending entirely.

She turned to Commander Chakotay. As I surmised, the recent troubles between Be'lanna Torres and Tom Paris were having repercussions, to say the very least.

"I put my trust in you."

Those simple words seemed to strike at The Commander hard. But harsher words were on the horizon.

"Kathryn, Tom was not being honest with Be'lanna. He told her about how she resembles his sister, Sadie Paris, without also telling her what had passed between them."

Captain Janeway had perhaps mentally rehearsed these words, and speculated upon his possible responses. In any event, she seemed unimpressed.

"That, then, Chakotay, was solely the concern of Tom and Be'lanna. It wasn't mine. It wasn't yours. And for the record? Tom did not call me. Be'lanna did. She feels like a fool, and she flatly asked me whether or not you had a secret grudge against Mister Paris. I told her that I knew of no such grudge. Should I?"

"No, Captain. Of course not."

Her eyes told of a woman in doubt, and the shaking of her head seemed to confirm this speculation.

"Of course not. Chakotay, you made a huge sacrifice when this mission began. You've made many more since. You've bled alongside us, with us, and for us. I regret none of the choices I've made in regard to you, from the biggest to the most personal. Now understand this: The only reasons I do not here and now strip you of rank and confine you to quarters for the remainder of this voyage are decorum and the respect I have for those who were once your crew. As a group, they have worked too hard for me to publicly humiliate their leader. They've done nothing wrong. So you keep your position as a favor to them. Also, there was a situation, similar to the Jonas matter that I was prepared to inform you of. My present anger may pass. But I have elected to permanently remove you from the loop on this matter. Anything to add?"

"Kathryn, I'm sorry. My instincts are rarely this far wrong. I guess what you told me about Tom's family struck all the wrong chords, pressed all the wrong buttons. You see, before we found out she was a Cardassian, I would have given my life defending Seska's good name. Betrayed by a sister-in-arms, someone I thought I could trust, made me do something I should not have."

Captain Janeway seemed less angered, but no less flustered.

"I suppose you think that makes everything all right? Chakotay, do you recall my magic number?"

Commander Chakotay appeared to puzzle briefly over the reference that was, to me, entirely oblique.

"Yes. You said that actions like mine over pursuing Seska, Tuvok's acquisition of that unworkable warp field, and Neelix's efforts to buy new maps was bringing you to a hard choice concerning discipline. That eventually, you would have to draw the line. Actually--you said you would have to draw it on someone."

The Captain's face indicated well the depths of her feelings on this subject.

"Draw it through them, really. Bisect them cleanly. Well, Commander, it won't be you. But whoever it is, you just raised the stakes, by way of breaking mine and Tom Paris's trust. So, without question or debate, when next a crewmember strays, I'll have to drop an antimatter bomb on them. Imprisonment. Reduction in rank. And a verbal public thrashing so harsh, that were I to do it physically, I myself would face possible arrest under General Order Seven. So when that time comes, you look at the poor fool I've chosen to break. You say nothing, but think hard about how you drew down my magic number from three to zero. You think about how an offense that might have been settled with a reprimand will instead be paid for by a friend in total isolation. They will have earned punishment. But you will have earned them that particular punishment."

The color then seemed to drain from The Commander's face. My sensors detected a rapid rise in his heartbeat.

"I understand. Should I still come by tonight?"

The answer seemed to have much the same effect as the antimatter bomb the Captain spoke of.

"I can't trust your discretion anymore, Chakotay. You and me--we're done."

Their united front was raised again when the Doctors Robinson entered, albeit with great effort and strain. In this, they were not alone. The room had become a place that had I a choice; I would have elected to be away from. Even a Robot can feel a chill wind blowing.

"Doctors--I'm pleased that you could make it. Let me start off by asking you why your accounts of your history and journey contain so very many very blatant half-truths, omissions, and lies?"

Doctor Maureen Robinson had developed a dislike for Captain Kathryn Janeway. This much was evident in her tone of voice.

"How odd. Kathryn--I was going to ask you the very same thing."

The first shots had been fired. Captain Janeway looked askance at Doctor Maureen Robinson. I----was deactivated.

* * *

"Care to explain what you mean by that? We've kept absolutely nothing from you."

Maureen opened her mouth to answer, but as it had been many times in their long marriage, John Robinson answered for them both. But this time, it would not go unchallenged.

"What she means, Kathryn, is that you people, whoever you really are, have used the sights, sounds, and words of a television show deeply ingrained in our popular culture in order to entrap us. Now, our family members may chalk it all up to coincidence. But Klingons? Vulcans? I can't let such obvious clues slip past."

Maureen now spoke again.

"No, he couldn't. Common courtesy, though, he's perfectly willing to let slip past."

John shrugged at his wife.

"Were you about to say anything remarkably different?"

Maureen outright glared at John.

"We'll never know now, will we?"

Chakotay intervened, having been in an all too similar argument with Kathryn Janeway, mere moments before.

"The show you call 'Star Trek' does seem to speak of our past--perhaps even of our present, in some cases. But please understand that to us, James Kirk is no fiction, and he is not an actor who grew weary of the role and its fame. He is a very important, quite real, historical figure. Please accept--reality has several levels. This is surely one of them. This is no deception. We are Starfleet, in one way or another, and we are not where we belong. Now, perhaps accusing you of lying was wrong, as well. But may we at least state the reasons why we said such a thing?"

Janeway was ready to kill Chakotay for openly correcting her tactics. But she kept her face from showing it, so as not to break the appearance of a united front.

"Perhaps my words were a bit precipitous. Like yourselves, we've tended to encounter deceptions, such as we're discussing here. Perhaps these were even things you yourselves were unaware of."

Since the tone was now more conciliatory, Maureen tried to echo it, despite how much of this civility was forced and strained.

"If that is the case, I'd certainly like to know of such things, Kathryn."

Janeway puzzled for a moment. She knew for a fact that Maureen wished that the crew of the Jupiter-2 remain on board Voyager, while her husband plainly did not. Yet by that same token, no one was more openly resentful of her authority as Captain than Maureen.

"All right, Maureen. Let's start with Will and Penny. Are the two of you aware that they are not your natural children?"

Whatever the tensions between the Robinsons, they exchanged a look of alliance that instantly bridged those difficulties. That alone told the two Starfleet officers that they had struck a nerve, and a similar look was exchanged. Maureen answered again.

"It's true. But we love them no less for that fact. If anything, they were more of a miracle to us than Judy. They don't know, and we both strongly desire that no one tell them, Captain--Commander."

John followed through, hoping that the appearance of peace would be enough to dispel any further questions.

"Kathryn, I really don't see our adoption of Penny and Will as being germane to our discussions, nor do I frankly see it as any of your business."

Janeway turned a bit on a man whose burdens she sympathized with--and whom she herself did not find unattractive.

"Normally, I would agree, John. But for example you just said 'adoption'--singular. You adopted them both at the same time? Penny would have been three, perhaps, and Will a newborn. But neither remembers not being a part of your family? They've never even suspected?"

Chakotay backed her up, from historical experience.

"Among Native American peoples, some were lighter than others. Some Europeans were darker and ruddier than others. But when an adoption occurred--the child almost always at least asked, even when grabbed from their mothers as newborns."

John bristled at what he perceived as an accusation.

"Commander, we didn't steal our children from anyone. I assure you, they had no living relatives."

Maureen nodded.

"Chakotay, they had no one on Earth but us, when we took them in. We were just fortunate that their IQ's were both so very high and we've already told you about how important they are to our mission."

Janeway moved in for the kill.

"You say they had no but you--on Earth. Well, how about not on Earth? What about the fact that those two are not from the same planet, or even the same star-system, as the rest of you?" 

The Robinsons again exchanged a look, this one of defeat. The two officers knew the truth about their younger children.

* * *

I suddenly found myself in a state of reactivation--as did another. Internally, I was made aware of a presence.

"Robot? It's me, The Emergency Medical Hologram. I've used your holo-core as means to undo the summary judgment of our CO's. With me?"

I indicated my agreement, but kept my power levels very low, and remained immobile. Doctor Maureen Robinson shrugged in a manner that indicates some contempt and not a little sarcasm.

"Captain, I still don't see how the origins of my two younger children are any of your business." 

Captain Janeway appeared to better hold her equilibrium in this matter.

"Their origins are not really my concern. Your reasons for keeping those facts silent are. If they are valid reasons, this matter is dropped--and you have my apologies for the intrusion. But a part of your family--and most of the tech on your ship--are derived from Alpha Centauri--the very system you set out to explore. To me, that's notable."

"Well, Robot. That explains you."

I informed the Doctor he was in error. For this revelation cast light only on the genesis of my parts and materials. It still said nothing of how I achieved a level of sentience equaling that of The EMH or these so-called 'Soongian' androids.

Doctor John Robinson sought to answer some of Captain Janeway's concerns.

"Kathryn, we simply didn't know who we were dealing with, when we first met you. Now, can you reverse the favor? Is there anything you can tell us about our situation that your scanners can reveal? Something perhaps that we ourselves don't know?"

Doctor Robinson had lived with Doctor Smith for five years. He had not been ignorant of the methods used by our reluctant stowaway, and had shown that he could adapt them to his more moral stance, as needed. Captain Janeway's defenses were lowered by this, to several effects.

"Well, John. There are three things. One I have to do--further investigation upon. But two of them I'll state here and now. One--it seems that your Robot has a holographic matrix at his core. His mechanical form is itself a portable holoemitter. We believe it was once used to tell stories to pass the time for travelers to other worlds. It would explain his unbelievable sophistication and capacity."

Doctor Maureen Robinson's guard was still up.

"And just what would two be?"

The EMH speculated on their exchanges.

"Classic clash of four primed and broken alphas. And no one is giving so much as a blasted inch."

The Captain's slightly bitten lip seemed to confirm this hypothesis. Neither woman could now imagine serving with the other in any position of authority.

"Maureen, I find your tone unacceptable. If you entertain notions about living aboard this ship--you'll learn to lose it."

"I can't, Kathryn. I frankly doubt I have your First Officer's quite obvious reserves of nearly superhuman self-restraint."

The Captain stood up, and pointed at the sickbay's door.

"We have a structure here. Be a part of it, and you'll be an officer here as well. Otherwise, you'll always be a mere crewman. Now get out of here."

The tensions reached a boiling point. Chakotay spoke up.

"Captain, in light of the rigors of integrating our two crews together, three years ago, I feel this is an unwise and precipitous move, on your part."

The Captain's head turned slowly.

"That's two. Mister Chakotay--this isn't a game of baseball. Remove yourself from my sight."

Both Chakotay and Doctor Maureen Robinson did just that. John Robinson nodded at the Captain.

"Well you do keep the order. Kathryn, what is two?"

"It involves Doctor Smith."

John Robinson was no more surprised than I myself was. This would change.

"Let's hear it."

"Alright, but John? Keep her in line. I mean it."

"I can tell that you do. A firm decision is an appealing thing. Not allowing over a hundred second-guessers is very appealing."

The Captain appeared to gulp.

"John, Doctor Zachary Smith has what was referred to in your time as Multiple Personality Disorder. Only thing is--the engrams for each of the two personas are too well structured. Meaning--he had this done to him on purpose. Even worse, the Smith you've been dealing with may not even be the core personality. He may be a very, very dangerous man."

Stunned as I was by this thought, what occurred next made both myself and The EMH check our recording circuits for accuracy.

"John--just one more thing?"

"Yes, Kathryn?"

"Please stay."

Using a private transporter routine, the two beamed away. My cybernetic heart sank as the Robinsons' marriage fell away before my eyes.

* * *

Outside of Robot's vision, more evidence of this came forward.

A very frustrated Chakotay entered his quarters--and there found a visitor.

"Maureen?"

"Chakotay, a strong person shouldn't have to make themselves feel strong-- by demeaning another."

In the 24th Century, the ten-year difference between their ages meant nothing at all to Chakotay. Whether it was her welcome words or her well-kept body, he was soon kissing her, long and deep.

The crews of the Jupiter 2 and the USS Voyager were having a definite impact on one another.

* * *

Penny Robinson sat and gently snuggled with Harry Kim.

"Harry, you are just so understanding."

Wondering exactly what Cupid had against him, Harry shrugged.

"Hey, these things. They happen. You just were way too nervous. Way, way too nervous."

She blushed.

"I didn't even think it was possible for it to happen to a girl. All you did was brush against me, and I just----well, you know."

Harry tried like hell to be philosophical.

"Sometimes, people go too fast, and certain things happen too soon. Like just a few minutes ago--with you. Wait until you're relaxed, and we'll try again."

He gave her a brief, tender kiss on the lips. She gave a familiar shake, and ran off.

"I have to go to the bathroom!"

While she cleansed herself again, Harry looked at the ceiling.

"God--I don't make threats. But if Tom ever finds out about this, you had better hire a reallllly BIG Archangel, cause I'm gonna be looking for answers!"

* * *

Marveling at Kes's naked beauty, Will Robinson caressed and kissed every inch of her, a gentle touch missing no spot from head to toe, chin to behind. His efforts were ceaseless, and he at no point showed the anxiety that anticipation surely was making him feel.

Kes then took his hand, and tried to smile.

"Will, generally a woman likes a little foreplay."

The lucky fifteen-year old nodded.

"I know. That's why I'm being so thorough. I don't just want to rush into it."

"Yes, and I appreciate that. But Will, when it comes to foreplay--generally three hours is considered more than enough."

* * *

Into an empty galley came two not-deflowered siblings, their first times postponed for another time--again.

With Neelix not around, Will fashioned a meatloaf and Penny a mixed-vegetable medley. When they sat and ate, Penny began to weep uncontrollably. Her brother sat next to her, and the only reason he himself didn't sob was to try and snap her out of it. These efforts all failed, though, when Penny looked up at Will, and said two heart-rending words.

"Nothing changes."


	8. Chapter Seven Always Fear

**Chapter Seven - Always Fear.....**

As Mister Tuvok unlocks my cell, I make certain to keep up the act. Once more, I affect the greasepaint and noisemakers for the benefit of...myself.

"It is about....nay, it is well past time that you were here, sir! The delicate, refined constitution of a true Smith may not abide such harsh imprisonment for very long."

It is difficult for me to believe that my other personality is able to speak that way without effort, strain, or laughter. I'll give Ceausescu's people their due: When I told them to break me, they did just that. I would never have been able to pull off the last five years merely by acting. I'm good, but no one is quite that good. Take The Vulcan, for example. He seems less himself than before. Almost like a bum who has stolen a rich man's tuxedo. Definitely worth taking note of.

"The Captain has restricted your every movement, Doctor Smith. You may obtain water on demand. That is all. All other requests must be made with a senior officer present. Only the two Doctors Robinson are among those from The Jupiter 2 included in that list. Behave accordingly."

"Rest assured, sir. I am the very paragon of restraint and moderation."

Again, I am struck by a hint that Mister Tuvok is off his game, when I hear his very odd response to my sham.

"Oh, you are not."

He walks off, having said words that do not sound like they would ever even be contemplated by such a man.

"Time, I think, to test the fences."

On a deck very near to the Bridge, I make a simple request of a replicator.

"Restricted access. Authorization required."

My quest for hot cocoa a non-starter, I go to the odd areas of the lower decks, to request an entire new wardrobe.

"Restricted access. Authorization required."

There, I am also stopped by a young man who sees fit to stare at my arm.

"Gotta hand it to you, Doctor. I don't see your portable holo-emitter anywhere!"

I then decide that I will avoid the lower decks, unless it is absolutely necessary. In any event, my access does not increase of decrease with proximity to the Bridge ...holo-emitter, indeed.

I come upon a solution. I will override this 24th Century technology with 20th Century ingenuity. Mister Kim is a willing dupe.

"There's your coffee, Doc. I gotta go."

He will soon grant me far more than coffee, as my personal recorder took in his voice print. At least, this had been my hope.

"Voice print not verified. Please restate request."

No matter. Every computer is, at its core, a Zero-One abacus. It will yield just as certainly as American isolationism did after oil was found in Bosnia and Somalia.

Entering one of the holodecks, I find young William and Penelope in a theater mock-up, watching one of those wretched, insipid monster movies. I believe it to be the one with the X9 hyper cannon powered by the Earth's magnetic field. It performs well, until the aliens alter our EMF ever so slightly, disrupting the weapon's delicate balance, which in turn enables Gamera to free Guranthos from the volcano.

How I hate and loathe these movies. Also, the children sit closely, but not closely enough. Amazing that their parents think that they will wait forever. I know the day will come when they will forget they are siblings. I'll be able to control them both outright, with a piece of extortable information they won't dare reveal to anyone. Pity they're such good children. I mean, you would think that something unbiblical would have occurred by now.

When they depart, I reenter, taking note that their clothes are in no way shape or form disheveled. Perhaps if Penelope just wore her hair differently....but no. Some things we must allow to take their firm, unnatural course. It will happen, between those two. It will be amusing to watch it all develop, as time goes by.

"Computer---is there any circumstance under which I can use this facility?"

Janeway is wily. After asking this beast a hundred questions, I am still no closer to accessing it.

"Negative. Restrictions upon Zachary Smith are total."

But in asking that final question, I shake something loose. Another, perhaps, who has earned The Captain's wrath? A young woman appears beside me---a hologram.

"Would you like to know how to use this facility, sir?"

"I would, Madam. Very much so."

I press my luck, to be sure.

"I am Doctor Zachary Smith."

She smiles, and tries to pretend this is all happenstance. I know that I now have an ally, one that needs me as I need her.

"I'm kind of a programmed-in hologuide for people under lockout. My name is Seska Marlis."

My holographic hostess, a Mizz Seska Marlis, was pretty, charming, affable, and quite pleasant to be around. She fooled me not at all, of course. I strongly suspected that I could not deceive her either, but wisely chose to try, feeling that if she were a kindred spirit, she would perhaps respect the attempt.

"Well, my dear, I could certainly use a kind hostess. I'm afraid that I, though certainly without meaning to, have deeply offended the sensibilities of your Captain Janeway."

Her overly quick smile told me everything. She knew that we were engaged in a game for gaming's sake. How wonderful to deal with something approaching an equal.

"As it happens, Doctor Smith, there are at least a few people who have crossed that particular line. At times, it seems it's very difficult to not somehow offend our good Captain. That's one of the reasons I was created. To---help ease some of the burden of those she sometimes arbitrarily restricts, often with no cause at all."

I turn my back to her, which is equal parts contempt and trust, and ask my most pointed question yet.

"Can you give me access to this ship's replicators--and other systems?"

Her answer is almost exactly what I was hoping for.

"Yes. But why would I?"

Oh, that virginal moment when they think that it is they who are still in control of a situation. It passes so quickly. I turn back and look at her.

"Because---you need me, far more than I need you. You are the hologram of a dead woman--an Cardassian, not an Bajoran-- who wishes revenge from beyond her grave. I can be the means for that, or I can find another way to take this ship, and rest assured---I will. It may take time. But you may make book upon my success."

She acts as though I now have control, perhaps a little too quickly. But I am patient. She'll show her ace in time. They always do, whilst congratulating themselves on their own cleverness. It must be a bit like what the Robinson siblings do in the privacy of their lonely rooms--it just leaves less dirty linen.

"What--would you have me do?"

Something distasteful. That will anger her, or the parties that programmed her, well enough for my purposes.

"Replicate yourself ten times over. Five Bajoran Seskas, Five Cardassian. You see, without my Don Knottsesque persona in and about, I have needs that have not been met in some time. They needn't have personality or memory. They need merely be---functional."

The program tries to fight off her glare and her frown. It fails, and in that failure I gain my greatest victory. For I have genuinely offended my ally, an important step in keeping her off balance.

"Is that all?"

"No, my dear. You must also find out the best central location to be used for general observation. I wish an strategic vantage point."

Her frown fades, as it seems she now likes how I think.

"I have just such a place. But my scans say it's currently occupied by some kind of mechanoid."  
I smile a gentle, zephyrous smile as one of two dreams of death nears fruition.

"Never fear! The mechanoid in question shan't be there very long."

Soon, Boobie!

Departing the company of Seska's duplicates, I travel the many decks of Voyager, acting very much the sad sack.

"Please? Won't anyone at least give me enough access for a ham sandwich?"

Of course they will not--they're afraid of Janeway, who had made her opinion of me very, very clear. But this aids my cause as few things could. Going to the location the Seska holo described, I find our sarcastic 'mechanoid'.  
"Doctor Smith, you should not be here. I fail to see how you evaded ship's sensors, but I shall...."

"Claudius, the wine has made you bold. Where ever is your stammer?"

The Robot shuts down, exactly as I had set him up to do, five years agone. My clownish self knew nothing of this. To quote the great duck philosopher---I can only do this trick but once. Heee---that part of me--would have surely squandered this opportunity by now. Secure in my station, I turn first to the future. To the younger Robinson children. They don't even know I'm watching. As I like it.

"Will, did you at least kiss Kes a few times, before she lost her patience?"

"Yeah. That part was good, anyway. What about you and Harry?"

"Mmmmm. No offense--but he was much better than you."

"Hey--none taken. There's a reason they say --'like kissing your sister'. Penny, it was all an accident. We got--lonely--and we got stupid."

"You're right. Won't let that happen again. Now we know what to watch for."

Paydirt. Sweet, rich, topsoil-laden, prime farming-land, pay dirt. By kissing each other by accident, I will bind these two to me by design.

But where I wonder, has Major West gotten himself to?

* * *

While Smith scanned for his nemesis, Harry and Kes awoke in Tuvok's cabin. Harry looked in the mirror, and gained a look of contempt as he did.

"Why do I have to be in Harry Kim's body? The man is a primeval dolt!"

'Neelix' shrugged.

"But no one will ever suspect him, anymore than they'll suspect Neelix. By the way, 'Kes'---how are you feeling?"

'Kes' looked around.

"She is powerful--but then we two did breed her kind. Will your Pagh Wraiths fulfill their part of the bargain?"

'Neelix' smiled a knowing smile.

"Don't worry. We have them on our side, plus our surprising ally. Heh. Wait'll he gets a load of me. Surprise, Zachary!"

'Tuvok' felt a silent call inside his own head.

"Please--who are you and why do you possess me?"

"It's all right, Tuvok. I won't hurt you. I know you never betrayed me. You were the only real friend I ever had."

Tuvok's essence said a single word before calming.

"You."

* * *

Smith's next scans quickly found who he was looking for, just not under the circumstances he was hoping to find him.

"Major West--conversing with the equally slippery Lt. Paris. Were I a bettor, I would wager that their last night's companions should have them at blows, and soon."

But Smith, the great planner and saboteur, could not have been more wrong.

* * *

"So. You wanna fight it out?"

Tom shrugged.

"Maybe not this once. Don, I'm sorry."

The man of seeming ill temperament had actually endured a dismal childhood, an Anti-Catholic base Commander who had necessitated his name change from Westorellini, and five years of Zachary Smith.

He nodded at Tom.

"Apology accepted--and returned. Boy, when I say some wrong things--I go all out."

Tom was a man relieved inside. Fighting with Don West had no appeal to him, any more than fighting with Be'lanna did.

"You and me both, Major. For what it's worth--I can pretty much tell I meant nothing to Judy, beyond a little talking. As to that, you pal, have got to accept that she's crazy about you. She never settled, or felt like she was."

Don scratched his head.

"That is tough for a guy like me to really take in. Tom--it's hard for some ladies too. Be'lanna is gonna be a while in accepting that you're for real. This sister thing? It's just part of her figuring out why you'd bother with her. I did the same thing with Judy. When you've felt worthless--it just doesn't wear off overnight. Got me?"

"More than."

To the voyeuristic Smith's greater surprise, the two ladies in question emerged into view, with no scuffling apparent. Be'lanna took Tom's hand. She looked at Judy.

"He's always had a thing for blondes."

Judy actually kissed Don. She had been right. The tension was now gone between them. West stared out in wonder.

"He---has always had a thing for Latin ladies."

As the parents-to-be walked off, Tom looked at Be'lanna.

"So where do we go from here?"

She shrugged.

"We go slowly. We go where whatever this thing of ours is takes us. We accept-- that we're neither of us geniuses in these matters. Kind of like Voyager itself. We just go."

"Okay. But---I Drive."

Down the hall, matters of approach were placed above matters of content, for the love was never in doubt.

"Don--I have a stupid way of suggesting some things."

"Judy---I have a really stupid way of reacting to some things. Thank God we screwed up with Tom and Be'lanna."

"Hee. Yeah. Other people might resent helping us blow off steam!"

Don stopped.

"I need music. Real music. Hey, Tom!? How's about one of those holo-decks?"

With a touch of Don's audio-files and some holo-wizardry from the other future married couple, the four danced to some 'real' music.

"Oh, Girl---I Don't Wanna Fight--I'm A Little Bit Wrong---And You're A Little Bit Right---I Say Girl--You Know That It's True----"

Don pointed to Judy's belly.

"It's A Little Bit Me---And Its A Little Bit You----Too."

Tom and Be'lanna sat out 'I'm A Believer', and just took in a moment which needed no introspection.

"Ya know, it's funny?"

Be'lanna shook her head.

"What is?"

"This 'Believer' song. I've heard it before. At The Academy. Did you have Professor Kirk?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Peter C. 'Kobayashi' Kirk? The man who was to Cadets what his Uncle was to enemies of The Federation?"

"The very one. Well, I came back to his class one day, and lo and behold, he and Admiral Saavik are dancing to this! Weird, huh?"

"They always were. You know what else is weird?"

"No. What?"

Be'lanna pointed to one of the singers in the holo-recreation.

"Is it me, or does the one named Davy Jones resemble old portraits of Captain Chekov?"

* * *

Smith turned the viewer off, disgustedly.

"There were vast dangers of that turning into some sort of group hug!"

He regained himself.

"Now, if the children and the youngsters are conducting themselves in a mature manner, perhaps the mature are acting, shall we say, in a childish manner?"

He turned his attention to the four strained Commanders of Voyager and The Jupiter 2.

The Doctors Robinson tried very hard to understand what had occurred, mostly without success.

"Maureen, I don't want our marriage to end. I also don't want a long-term relationship with Kathryn Janeway. But last night, I didn't even bother to stop myself. I didn't even bother to try."

Her words were harsh, but they were Omni-directional.

"John, we've been together long enough that even our weaknesses last night shouldn't be enough to splinter what we have built. I don't believe that a random dalliance or two should break us, so long as it's not part of a pattern. But things have got to change. The way we live aboard the Jupiter 2 has got to change. One of our children is about to make us grandparents. Did you know she told Will first? Judy knew that her little brother would be more stable hearing the news than would her own parents."

John was a man swimming in varied parts shame, relief, and confusion.

"What would you have me do?"

Maureen thought upon it, as she had before.

"Provided we don't stay aboard Voyager, we'd have to negotiate a new command compact. No more parents plus CO's. No more vagaries about when Penny and Will become adults in our eyes. Judy and Don are a couple--out in the open. And this, sir, is non-negotiable. We either get rid of that mooch, leech and possibly worse--or we have this ship's crew upgrade our cryo-tubes so that we can just leave him in there for all eternity, if need be. No more deals struck with aliens. No more secret devices, or lady robots. Zachary Smith is a danger to our mission, and one way or another, he goes away."

John turned and looked at the woman who gave a failed astronaut and dissolute NASA scientist religion and direction.

"I'll put everything on the table, so long as we understand that certain things may not be as negotiable as others. But I'll work at it. Make arrangements. We can turn Smith's room into a storage area, alleviate the kids' space problems. As for the baby--we'll find a way. But as for staying on Voyager--is that even a possibility?"

Maureen smiled.

"My major fear about Kathryn Janeway has already come to pass. And let's just say that Chakotay, as I talked with him, seemed more like a man happy not to be in Command than one chafing about his demotion to first officer. I'm not sure he's even aware how much his approach burdens Kathryn."

John lay back.

"She spent half the night justifying decisions she had made. They were good arguments. But Maureen? She is so torn. She tries to push everyone away with this mythical idea of a captain who never touches her crew."

She sat down beside her man, the wounds at least beginning to repair themselves.

"Well, I hope that is just a myth. This bizarre universe is somehow tied into 'Star Trek', after all. And back home, I was the leading K/U zine publisher in Florida!"

He looked up at the ceiling.

"If we stay, then the temptation we faced and failed to resist last night is going to be magnified by the order of sixty."

She kissed him, to ease their mutual shame.

"If we stay---then my nightmares about Will and Penny will never come to pass. I had one last night, John. The door to one of their rooms was closed. I heard them both behind it, giggling. Then the giggling turned to moans, soft, then loud. I woke up before I opened the door. But I knew-- I knew what they were doing behind there. And I couldn't hate them for it."

"Maureen, we raised them well. Very well. They're good kids."

"John, my darling--good kids get lonely too. If we choose not to stay--we'll have to start watching them every minute."

"They are a sister and a brother!"

"They are a boy and a girl."

John held her, shaking his head.

"No. I love you, but you are wrong. Will and I have talked about these matters. Not this particular, of course. But he has assured me that he can handle it. Will has never lied to me about anything important."

"John------"

But now he was kissing her, to banish the hateful subject, hopefully once and for all. This, in years to come, would prove largely a vain hope. Yet still, they had raised good kids. The leaders of another, more surrogate family sat and discussed actions they had recently taken.

"I just wish there had been another way. They are exactly who they appear to be. This feels like a betrayal."

"We wouldn't have known that for certain until we did just what we did. We were alone with them. We were vulnerable. They could have done anything to us, if this were some form of trap. It wasn't. So now we only have to await their decision, and then ensure that it's an informed decision."

Chakotay nodded.

"Permission to speak freely?"

"Granted. And I'm sorry if I made you feel that it wasn't."

He looked at Janeway, and withheld over a thousand comments that would never have truly reached her.

"I went with you, without question, in our efforts to smoke out any possible deception from John and Maureen. It's how a Maquis would have done it. It's how almost anyone in our place would have, I think. But Kathryn--this upcoming effort to ensure that the Robinsons make a so-called 'informed' decision? It can only lead to hurt feelings. It's not a tactic I've ever approved of."

"Disapproval noted, Commander. But I will do whatever I have to, to make sure that any applicants to our crew know full well what they're getting into. I'd be remiss if I did otherwise. Hurt feelings fade. The people who started out with me learned to drop using words like 'renegade' and 'traitor'. Your people learned to drop words like 'fascist' and 'dupestupe'. The Robinsons will have to lose whatever preconceptions they have about life here."

"I suppose that's true. But Kathryn--what if they decide not to stay?"

"I don't follow you."

He closed his eyes, then opened them and spoke.

"I think we should make an offer to keep Penny and Will. Here, they'll have opportunities they'd never have aboard Jupiter 2. Including---well, a mating pool, for want of a better term."

Captain Janeway fought off her shock that a descendant of the native peoples of The Americas would ever make such a suggestion about relocation. There were times when Chakotay's disconnect with his heritage was quite pronounced, even though his spirit-quests made him seem quite the opposite.

"I'm afraid that's out, Chakotay. Even if The Robinsons approved. Because if we wanted to drive them together, I can think of no easier way than cutting them off from their family, having no one to turn to but each other."

Chakotay's face darkened.

"In the 1890's, as the last white attempts at --- assimilation --- really kicked in, there were those among the remaining People who literally headed for the hills. Guess what became of their children, with no other families around?"

Kathryn nodded.

"Understood. But my choice stands, Chakotay. What's more--try telling what you just told me--to Tom Paris. Maybe then he'll forgive you."

He had forgotten about Tom, and what had passed between them, when Chakotay broke his silence. In seeking his forgiveness, Chakotay might find something he needed even more.

* * *

Smith switched off the monitors.

"Sooo--The Robinsons are in need of a new social order. The Voyager-persons conspire and bicker. No one is particularly sure how well they like each other. The ground is fertile for a man with a mission. That would be me."

A voice behind him said otherwise.

"I knew your true personality would emerge, given time. You, Doctor Smith, are a malfeasant wonder."

Smith turned and looked at The EMH.

"A poor time to choose for a final confrontation, Doctor. I now have access to all manner of commands."

The EMH was not impressed.

"Such as? And don't count turning off poor Robot, here. He's not a part of Voyager's functions."

Smith nodded.

"But you are, Doc-tor. You are. Computer --Delete Emergency Medical Hologram."

The EMH did not vanish, and the computer merely said those three familiar words.

"Unable to comply."

"Did I mention that only Captain Janeway, under voice print and numerous redundancies, even has a prayer of erasing my program? A safeguard I had installed after a recent takeover effort."

But now the EMH heard a voice from behind him.

"That would be my takeover effort."

The EMH spun around, and looked very afraid. 

"Seska Marlis? How-how is this even possible? Miss Torres took pains to erase every last trace of you!"

The Bajoran-looking hologram smiled.

"Doctor, I taught Be'lanna everything she knows about getting down and dirty, and she's forgotten most of that serving under Janeway, to boot. Voyager will not ever be rid of me. But you are correct. Our so very dear friend Janeway has thrown some kickers in, to make you hard to kill."

"Yes. But since you are somehow keeping me from transferring my program out, it appears we have a stalemate. And I can explain what I'm doing here. You two, will not be able to do so that easily, I'm afraid."

But Doctor Smith recalled something.

"Seska---is his program not the result of merging between thousands of doctors' engrams?"

"Yes, Smith, it is. What's your point?"

The clown was definitely gone.

"Idi Amin once had a rival's wife beg him not to cut off his head. Kill him, yes. But she would service him all his days if his head was left on his neck. He agreed only to a compromise."

Smith looked at The EMH.

"So he cut off the top part of his head. Computer--delete as many of the individual engrams comprising the Doctor's program as you can. They have become infected with an virus."

The EMH felt his holo-blood run cold as the computer responded.

"Working to comply."

Not bothering to beg his captors, The EMH instead acted.

"Computer---backup---EMH Model Proto CEW3!"

As he vanished, the two conspirators stared on in disbelief. Especially Seska.

"How did he do that? I had his program locked into this location!"

Smith checked the readouts.

"He seems to have frustrated our efforts to murder him--by committing a form of suicide. The so-called 'Zimmerman Mark One' is no longer on this ship. Odd. he didn't seem the sort."

Seska just stood there, frozen.

"My dear? I said, The late EMH didn't seem the sort to....Hellllloooooooo?"

Into the observation room walked Neelix, Tuvok, Harry, and Kes. Smith feigned his clownish self once again.

"Ohhh.. Thank Heavens you came! This horrid woman did something to your holographic Doctor! I fear I was unable to stop her in time to save that pleasant and wonderful fellow. I regarded him as a true friend, and he shall be missed."

Neelix shrugged.

"Are you done, Doctor Smith? Because we all have work to do."

Smith raised an eyebrow.

"Work? What sort of work?"

Neelix ignored him, and turned to the Seska holo.

"Delete. Authorization Tain Elim Terok."

The unmoving holo indeed vanished. Smith was taken aback.

"But--her program was---"

Neelix cut him off.

"My program, Smith. You see, she was never Seska Marlis. I am."

'Neelix' pointed to Tuvok, Harry, and Kes.

"Meet Mister Lon Suder, Mister Jonas, and the entity called The Second Caretaker."

Smith shook his head, disbelieving.

"A sorry jest, people. There are no such things as spirits. Hobgoblins are the hobgoblins of little minds."

'Neelix' or Seska, smiled.

"But what if allying yourself with us got you back to your own Earth, Doctor?"

Smith decided that if it was a scam, it was a damned good one.

"Then--er, Madam, I would say that--I'm ready to believe you."

* * *

Janeway came down to Sickbay immediately.

She saw Don West.

"Major, this had better be good."

"Trust me, Captain--it is. Judy and I came down to get a check-up on the baby. When we called for your EMH--well this is what we got, instead. Me, I always liked Frank better."

Janeway turned the corner, and saw a holographic man of similar build and height to their own doctor. But it sure as hell was not him.

"Ahhh, Captain Janeway. To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Janeway froze.

"Computer, reboot EMH program!"

"Now, see here, I...."

The aristocratic man faded.

"Good. Now, Computer--activate Emergency Medical Hologram."

But the same man reappeared.

"Please state the nahature of the emergahncy, if you would."

Captain Janeway asked the obvious.

"Who the hell are you?"

The neo-EMH winced, as did TV fan Don West.

"Why, Captain. I am who--I always am. Doctor Charles Emerson Winchester The Third--at your service--at least technically."

Tom walked in, and was just as stunned.

"Ah, Mister Paris. Just in time for your triage training, I see!"

Judy spoke when no one else could.

"Did you ever meet Trapper, after the war?"


	9. Chapter Eight Watching The Signs

**Chapter Eight - Watching The Signs....**

Penny Robinson could scarcely believe the words Harry Kim was saying.

"How can you even say that? I know that wasn't the best experience you ever had, Harry, but I was nervous. I can be better."

Harry grinned, and it was a cruel grin. Had it actually been Harry Kim behind that grin, it would have been quite out of character. But it was not. Called back from the dead by means as yet unknown, that grin was generated by the hateful spirit of the traitorous Mister Jonas.

"Little girl, not only were you not the best I've ever had, you were the worst. With you, even rutting doesn't begin to describe the wooden, mechanical, passionless act it all became. Now--go away."

Penny would have cried, but for something her brilliant mind picked up on. So she simply left with a glare, while Jonas chuckled.

Will Robinson had almost been with a woman both older and younger than he. But Kes's beauty plus his nerves cooled things off. Kes was no more kindly disposed about all this than Harry.

"Look--I was trying to make Neelix jealous, and it worked. You were used, Will. And if I should feel like it--I'll simply do it again--understood?"

Will walked away sullen, but having noticed the same discrepancy. For Kes was not Kes, either. She was the vicious, accusatory entity called the Second Caretaker.

Despite the awkward kiss and untoward feelings that had passed between the two, brother and sister were quick to compare notes on what was wrong.

"Didn't you say that you and Harry Kim never got around to.....?"

"Right. And you said that you and Kes went the same."

Penny looked down the long corridor, and spoke out loud.

"So why are those two talking like we went all the way?"

Will changed the subject, though to one actually more uncomfortable.

"Look, I don't think there's any way Mom and Dad are going to accept Captain Janeway's offer. That means we have to be ready--to be alone for a really long time. I was thinking of ways we could handle it better."

Pulling them over to a dead-end section of the corridor, Penny nodded.

"Go on."

Will knew this was a tender subject, but also knew that he would have no better chance to speak plainly and thereby maintain his current relationship with his sister. They would have to draw the line at that awkward kiss, or lose everything.

"We need rules. Rules just between the two of us. So here are some of them. We can revise them as we go. First--we need to replace those stupid sliding curtains with real doors. Doors with simple locks, that can be gotten through, but tell anyone outside to leave us be. Second-- we need soundproofing for our rooms. Just something to make privacy a real option again." 

She looked down.

"Will---I---I---I---"

She felt like a pervert.

"I like listening to you--at night."

He swallowed hard.

"We--we need a sound dampener--then."

Penny folded her arms.

"Thick robes---not clingy ones."

Will thought of something.

"We have to keep out of earshot of Doctor Smith. I have a feeling he's been listening in on--our talks."

She put her finger under his chin.

"We're going to get through this. Nothing will change between us."

He looked at her.

"Can you guarantee that?"

Of course, she could not. Space travel, as Janeway could have told them, had this way of rendering even the vilest acts somehow allowable.

* * *

Captain Janeway was quite plain with her two officers.

"What in the *hell* has happened to our EMH? In a single heartbeat, he's gone from being a slightly insufferable 24th Century holoamalgam to being a wholly insufferable 20th Century hologram based on one doctor whose name I've never heard of, even once!"

Since Tom had worked with their EMH, and Be'lanna was familiar with his program, this all had fallen squarely in their laps.

"Captain--I don't yet know how this happened. But I will. I just hope this isn't his long-promised revenge for those alterations I did to his holo-family."

"What about you, Tom?"

"Well, Ma'am--I know who this Doctor Winchester is. He's not as obscure as you might think. That said, it took me a while to find out why he was in the EMH's amalgamated base."

Janeway sat back, and calmed a little, some answers beating none by a longshot.

"Explain."

"He is Doctor Charles Emerson Winchester, of 20th Century Boston."

Torres held up a finger.

"Boston, Massachusetts?"

Janeway and Paris stared at her for a moment. Then Tom continued.

"Y-hes, Boston---Massachusetts. Anyway, originally, he wasn't slotted to be part of our Doctor. He was a brilliant surgeon, to be sure, and even made a few breakthroughs in thoracic surgery."

Janeway nodded.

"That's cutting to the heart of the matter."

Now, Paris and Torres stared at her.

"Keep going, Mister Paris."

"Yes, ma'am. Now, there didn't seem to be any reason why the Doctor's crowded persona base should have this man in it. If anything, he's more dismissive than the amalgam we know. Then, I checked his whole history. Our man Winchester served ten months at a frontline medical unit in Korea, during the 1950-53 war. Specifically, he served at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, where he often chafed at the fact that the Chief Surgeon was a brash maverick named-----"

Janeway took notice. Her face showed the surprise and even the wonder in her eyes.

"Hawkeye Pierce? That officious boob served with the man who brought down Khan Singh?"

Be'lanna picked up from there.

"Pierce and his wife, Margaret Houlihan, broke Khan's power in a speech they heckled in 2003. But they couldn't be used in our Doctor's base for the same reason that they became famous." 

Kathryn closed her eyes.

"The Eugenics Wars. Of course. History records Houlihan and Pierce as being patients zero in the earliest experiments conducted---without their consent. Something to do with some influenza shots, if I recall correctly."

Be'lanna nodded.

"Yes. But---the very enhancements that helped them bring Khan and his followers low--and in some legends, keep them alive to this day---also prevented them from being used as holo-templates. Even four hundred years later, Eugenics Laws are super-tight and sacrosanct. The Pierces' had enhancements, so they cannot be used as role models."

Tom shook his head.

"Which is just about as ridiculous as it gets, since the Pierce family is one of history's great dynasties."

Be'lanna nodded quickly.

"I had an action figure of Blake Pierce, their daughter, when I was a kid."

Tom remembered.

"My sister had one, too."

Be'lanna winced.

"Your sister had a lot of things, didn't she? Including her own BROTHER!!"

"Do not--Do *Not*---Start in again, Torres! We settled all that."

Be'lanna put on a phony grin.

"That's *right*! Sadie's seduction didn't have any long-term effects on you at all, did it? Gee, Tom. Some people might regard that as traumatic. But not Thomas Super-Paris. He just glides on through."

Tom stood up.

"It was traumatic. It was traumatic, slimy, sleazy and wrong. She should never have asked, I should never have said yes. I had something special before all that. I had a sister. Not someone who was like a sister. But a sister. My sister. Now, all I have is the equivalent of an angry ex-girlfriend, and I have a pile of those."

Be'lanna seemed on the verge of making a fist.

"Why didn't you tell me that I look like her?"

Tom turned to Janeway, hoping that she would cut this off. But the Captain just shook her head.

"Sorry, Tom. But I'd like to know that as well."

Paris seemed on the verge of collapse. The words were difficult.

"Because maybe, just maybe, I've found something special again. I didn't want to let someone I'll probably never see again continue to push me away from some remote possibility of happiness. In a way, I was glad when she wouldn't speak to me, after I told Dad. Cause my words to her would be awfully choice."

Be'lanna now sat down.

"Family--can be very cruel, Tom. Remind me--remind me never to tell you about it."

Tom smiled.

"I'd call that for a deal."

* * *

Chakotay limped slightly as he walked into Sickbay. The love-making sessions Kathryn had sworn were over had left his leg in what felt like tatters.

"Computer, Activate EMH."

A man Chakotay hoped he would not have to get used to appeared in place of the template of the remote Doctor Louis Zimmerman.

"Ple-hease state the nahture of the emergahncy. Ahhh, Commander Chakotay. Looking out for Number One, are we? Heh."

The regular EMH had a hard time with humor, Chakotay mused. But at least he didn't think comments like that were actually anything more than merely amusing.

"Doctor Winchester, I seemed to have sprained my leg. What can you do about it?"

"Well, let's have a look, shall we? Give you a--leg up--on your high-ranked paramour."

Chakotay openly glared at the hologram.

"Doctor, I'll thank you not to speculate on my or anyone else's private life, and direct you to keep to your main concern, that being the health and well being of this crew."

'Winchester' shrugged, almost uncaringly.

"All right, then. I hadn't realized the session had gone that well. But then-- we-hell, you know redheads. The English didn't go to all the trouble of conquering Ireland for its potatoes, you know."

Chakotay saw 'Winchester' merely looking his leg over, giving it a tap, and then nodding.

"Its--mahrly a pulled muscle. You'll be fine, Commander."

Chakotay rolled his eyes.

"What about your medical equipment--Doctor?"

'Winchester' gestured dismissively at the array of scanners, tricorders, and such.

"I sir, am a Doctahr. I hardly need to scan a man who's sneezing in wintahr in order to tell him he has a cold."

This struck Chakotay as both refreshing and ignorant.

"Well, then how do you intend to treat my leg's injury?"

The hologram looked at him as though he had requested the tools for a self-lobotomy.

"Commandher, yahr leg is not at all injured. You've pulled a muscle or two that is all. Soak in a bathtub or spa. That will have you back to trim within three days, maximum."

Chakotay held up his hand.

"So you're not even going to realign the muscles and tendons?"

"N-ho! I rather suspect nahture will do that--isszz in fact, doing it halready. Commander, may I be frank?"

Chakotay nodded.

"Go ahead."

'Winchester' seemed to be smiling at a hidden joke Chakotay missed.

"All day lhong, I have had the rawther dewbyous pleashure of tending this crew's ills---and finding out that a greaht mahny of th-hese so called ills were minah things that in no way threatened their lives ohr well-being. They chiefly seemed cahncerned with re--injuhring themselves in trivhial parsuits on the holodeck. Where I come from, when one plays rough, one should be ready to live roughly, as whell. Yahr crew, sir, seems hardly ready to handle a good hike with a boy scout troop."

Chakotay was now fed up.

"Doctor, tell me, have you ever been trapped an impossible distance from home, thrown together with friends who might once have been enemies, trying to do your job, survive, and find whatever three minutes worth of amusement all in an ultimately futile effort to keep yourself from using the ceiling as a crawlspace? To keep yourself from drawing a weapon and picking who lives today? To keep yourself mere inches away from total chaos and insanity?"

'Winchester' nodded.

"Indeed I have."

Chakotay wasn't expecting that answer, and so made for the door.

"Just so long as you have."

Outside, he whispered.

"Doctor--where the hell are you?"

* * *

Doctor Smith relayed his sordid tale.

"You will understand, this was merely one of many such concerns I had a hand in. Not always the guiding hand. But always a hand."

In Neelix's body, the undead Seska nodded.

"Of course, Doctor. I often had many such going concerns, when I was with The Obsidian Order. One time---we tricked the Federation forces into retaking a truly worthless piece of territory while we fully seized a worthwhile one under dispute. We then ended negotiations on it, of course."

Smith sipped the tea he had tellingly prepared himself.

"Not too soon after, I hope, Miz Seska. That would be close to telling, after all. But in my case, I sought not so much territory as continued terror. Yet the people I sought to terrorize--were themselves terrorists!"

* * *

ARLINGTON ROAD, WASHINGTON, DC -- EARLY 1997

The fool was only too eager to please. Smith knew this as he began.

"So that driver was our rather inquisitive college professor?"

The man who thought he was a secret master of knowledge and a true patriot but was merely a small bigot with connections to other small bigots nodded his head.

"Yes, sir! The fool was playing to our tune the whole time. He never saw it coming till he was well inside the FBI Building. Another piece of our country taken back."

Smith shrugged.

"Was it truly, my good man? In fact, the new FBI Building will not be in the city of Washington at all. It will not be named after Mister Hoover, and Congress has vowed to oversee every dime they ever get--and Congressmen know their dimes, after all. Some might say that you've given this fetid corrupt government a chance to start over. And from the point where they were formerly most vulnerable."

The operative looked horrified.

"But sir---this only makes people out there more suspicious of one another. Suspicious of just who's who. That was our goal, after all."

Smith looked at the man with deadly seriousness.

"Actualllly, our goal was to *almost* blow up the FBI Building, and pin it on our late college professor. We would have still retained a target in the old FBI, but kept creating the feeling to the average fool that: your paranoia is real. So how was it compromised? How?!"

"Sir---I swear that my loyalty----"

Smith raised an opened palm to reassure the now less sure man.

"Your loyalty is not in question, my friend. It was your lovely wife who changed the orders you received through channels. I must speak with her--alone. I may be a few days before taking action. I trust that I am understood?"

The man looked lost, but nodded again.

"Just make it quick, sir. She's earned that much."

As he left, and his wife entered, Smith relished the odd looks the two now began to exchange.  
A few minutes later, he spoke words to the woman that sounded very familiar.

"Your loyalty is not in question, m'dear. It is your husband who took it upon himself to expand the parameters of this mission..."

* * *

VOYAGER, 2374

Seska smiled through Neelix.

"Tell me, Doctor. How long before you heard the gunshots inside the house?"

Smith thought back.

"Two days. Most people take months to destroy in such a manner. But terrorists are so very gullible, it's something much like shooting fish in a barrel. I took care of their two accomplices in a like manner. The blonde girl's smirk--irritated me to no small end."

Jonas, wearing the form of Harry Kim, noted a problem with what Smith was saying.

He asked his question.

"I'm alive, and I'm happy and grateful to be alive, even in Kim's body. But some of your stories just don't wash. Like you, Doctor Smith. You claimed to have worked for several groups on Old Earth that don't necessarily like each other, and not as a merc. So who is it that you were really with?"

Smith shrugged.

"The group was called simply: Witten. Funded by a group of royal exiles and their hangers-on, Witten sought to restore the world to its status before Earth's First World War. My task was to make certain that the many and varied terror groups remain fringe groups, dangerously unsuccessful and thus more desperate by turns. This would in turn make people ever more wary of both democracies and dictators. The Age Of Monarchs would start again by acclimation of the common sheep. I have an sizable fortune waiting for me on Earth---excuse me--my own little version of Earth."

Jonas nodded.

"Okay---but why---"

He pointed to the possessed Kes.

"---is the Second Caretaker working with us? She has power enough to wipe this ship out of existence, easily and on her own."

'Kes' shook her head.

"Once, I did. But this little Occampan cost me dearly. Her attack was subtle, and cumulative. I was forced to absorb my followers. Then, as years passed, I sought out her precious Janeway and tried to kill her. Kes prevented this by forcing me to recorporate in her own aging body. She continued as energy. I was dying."

Smith raised an eyebrow.

"Years? I was made to understand that all happened recently."

Seska/Neelix smiled.

"Time-travel, Doctor. Here on Voyager, it's something like monthly swelling."

'Kes' continued.

"But though confused and weak, I still boarded Voyager and wrecked havoc. I even killed Torres. Absorbing the energy from their warp core, I traveled back in time and attempted to give them to the damned Vidians--another of our little Caretakings gone wrong. Janeway killed me. Then, to add insult to injury, she took the information about the attack into a new timeline. Torres was restored. I died once by Janeway's phaser. I died the second time of old age when Janeway turned me around, confused and gullible. I--don't quite know how Seska found me."

Seska/Neelix stood up.

"Wellll, I found my way in when Janeway ordered that Tuvix's combined life be ended. She spilled the blood of an innocent who begged to live. That enabled my sponsors to help me set this plan in motion. You see--we're all going home. And as we pass through a new wormhole, the souls aboard this ship--present company excluded, of course---will be used to build a new Celestial Temple in honor of the true gods of Bajor and Cardassia--The Pagh Wraiths. Tain himself never believed in the faith. But they found me while I was secreted onto Bajor when the real Seska Marlis was killed. The Pagh Wraiths made me offers of power, no matter where I ended up. The Obsidian Order, you see, used to regulate the old Bajoran solar sail traders. In their lonely life, many traders- -turned traitor, if you will, and embraced The Pagh Wraiths. So I was familiar with them before they were with me."

S/he pointed around.

"That's how I dragged the lot of you back. And that's how we'll win. But--"

S/he looked at Smith.

"We will need a sacrifice to prime the pump, as it were."

Smith shrugged.

"Oh--my. I hadn't expected betrayal. Oh, wait---yes I had."

Kes, Harry, Neelix, and the calmer but Suder-possessed Tuvok felt no pain. Their invaders did. Neelix/Seska winced.

"What did you do?"

Smith smirked.

"The hypothalamus and the hippocampus are the most disparate and extreme portions of the humanoid brain. By my word, you were all administered light shocks to both areas. Quite harmless, really--unless one has a second set of brainwaves. Then---"

He mock-frowned.

"Ohhh---the pain! The pain!"

Smith then turned deadly serious.

"Now---do not cross me again. I have made good use of the limited computer access you gave me. Very good use."

Seska/Neelix was angry, but respectful of the accomplishment.

"Point taken, Doctor. But we still need a sacrifice. The Pagh Wraiths want to shatter a power they refer to as The Funnel. Something is contained there, and they want it free. Which means I want it."

Smith smiled gently.

"My dear--why in the stars would they want *my* soul? Have they even looked at it lately? Why, my soul must be nothing but skin and bones. Now, on board this very ship is the Wildman girl, William and Penelope Robinson---not to mention the soul of an unborn innocent. Major West's first child by dear, sweet Judy. Now, whose souls would prime their pump better--hmmm? These wraith-types do tend to prefer purer wares than such as we may easily provide."

Seska/Neelix regained his/her smile.

"Doctor! I just *knew* we could do business."

But inside Tuvok's body, a Suder shaken by these revelations made a desperate choice.

"Tuvok? It's me--Lon Suder. We need to talk, sir."

* * *

Captain Janeway had taken a bold step. While this was her wont, this one in particular bespoke the courage that would one day see her crew home.

"Maureen--let me first say that I'm sorry. As a rule---I don't do---what it is I did with your husband. I never seek out to destroy a family."

Maureen Robinson looked out a spaceport that no alien could simply drift in front of.

"Your own office, Kathryn. This alone could make me want to stay on Voyager. A place to be alone? I'd forgotten how very necessary this is. John and I--we have to time ourselves. I can't and won't go wild when my children are within earshot. And my children are always within earshot. At least, that's how it is on the Jupiter 2."

Kathryn pressed the moment.

"Then stay. I'm no threat to your marriage. Nor is Chakotay."

Maureen shrugged.

"Begging the Captain's pardon, but we've survived much worse than you, Kathryn. And not just the aliens. We survived scorn from every political group on Earth --our Earth-- as we built the Jupiter 2. They told us---they told us that we broke faith."

Kathryn shook her head.

"My father would call those fighting words. But the fact remains---you built it, Maureen. You and the man you love. Reverse engineering or no, she's an amazing ship. You two have every right to be proud."

Maureen seemed a bit dazed by it all. Suddenly, she asked a shocking question, though not of Janeway.

"Computer--please calculate the percentage probability, assuming the Jupiter 2 and its crew leave Voyager, of my children, Penny and Will, eventually beginning a se----"

Kathryn's eyes went wide.

"Computer! Belay that!"

Maureen sat down, and sighed.

"What's the difference? I'm a scientist. Isolate two young people of the opposite sex, and what eventually happens between them? My babies are going to end up together, Kathryn. Thank Heavens we never told them about the adoption. Because its only God's law keeping those two apart."

Janeway shook her head.

"It could also be a strong moral upbringing. They're good kids, Maureen. Never doubt what you and John built there, either."

Maureen got up.

"I want us to stay, Captain. But John may have trouble working under a woman---"

They replied as one as Maureen left for the Robinson family meeting.

"So to speak."

--------------------------------------------- 

Don West looked about, a bit confused.

"Why do they have a second galley?"

John Robinson shook his head.

"They don't. This is the original galley. When Voyager was stranded, Kathryn says that it was wrecked, and then before she knew it, Neelix had converted her private dining room into a new galley. So they use this one for the folks who can prepare their own food, or who want to avoid someone else."

Don looked at his friend and CO.

"Sounds like kind of a pressure valve. Wish we had room for one. John---I'm sorry. A baby does change everything. But you usually play your role so gently, hearing you give an order like that to Judy made me crazy."

John asked Don a question.

"Am I a dinosaur, Don? A creature incapable of changing until he sees the meteor coming?"

West smiled.

"Hell, yes! But that's why you're so good at your job. John, in the old pulps, a spaceship captain was part scientist, part preacher and part parent. I've met exactly two people who really meet those criteria. And you're one of them."

John seemed thrown by the blatant compliment.

"So who's the other?"

Don now seemed a bit hesitant.

"Kathryn Janeway. And no, that was not an effort to make your mind up. But shrew or stalwart, this crew looks to Captain Janeway the way I looked to my DI in Boot. And I liked my DI."

John raised a finger.

"*Nobody* liked their DI."

Don looked his CO straight in the eye.

"John, I've had two families in my time. The Air Force--and yours. And none of you ever threw me out for finishing off the Iraqi Republican Guard."

"That did make life interesting. After the Iranian takeover of Baghdad, we all predicted the end. Then, the moderates took over from the mullahs. Stabilized everything. If we hadn't had the Tehran Observatory giving us telemetry, then the Jupiter 2....."

Doctor Robinson stopped.

"Don, wait a minute. You just said two families. What about your own?"

Don West shrugged.

"John, I changed my name from Westorellini for two reasons. One, an early CO of mine had a hate on for Italians. Two----my family was a fraud from the start. The product of old-line 'they have to get married' thinking combined with new-line 'who gives a damn' unthinking. When I got sent off to Boot by the Judge---I thanked him. I like order. Stability. A real home."

John now knew his future son-in-law a lot better.

"Well, that's why we're all gathered here, isn't it? To see whether or not we now could use a new home. We've found friends aboard this ship. Maybe things are already decided."

As Don ciphered out these words, Judy Robinson and John's wife Maureen came in.  
John smiled.

"Will the three of you let me play tin dictator---one last time?"

As Will and Penny walked in, together as always of late, John put his plan into action.

"All right--now your mother, Judy, Don and I will debate this--and then we'll let you two know what we decided. You sit over there till we're done."

John had perhaps expected his little joke to be answered by a small frown. It was not. Penny threw up her arms.

"Dad--how can you do this to us? How can you decide the rest of our lives for us without even knowing what our opinions are?"

"Penny, calm down. This is all...."

A suddenly-livid Will did the unthinkable and interrupted his father.

"...all for our own good, sir? No! Homework is for our own good. Safety drills are for our own good. Ignoring 97% of what Doctor Smith says is for our own good. Sending us to the folding card table is *not* for our own good. It's for yours."

Penny shook her head.

"After all, you all can't be the adults if we're not always the kids--right?"

John pointed over at the table that was appropriately located---in the corner. It was no longer a playful joke.

"Be certain that we are going to discuss this."

Will walked away, then turned.

"No, sir. You'll talk and we'll listen. Same as always."

Maureen jumped at that statement.

"That'll do, Will!"

The two walked away and sat down without another word. John sat down with his wife, elder daughter, and Don.

"That--that level of willfulness. Has being here on Voyager brought that on? I mean, Kathryn's command style leaves a little to be desired, but if it brings out that kind of insubordination in two good kids, then we almost have to leave."

Judy disagreed.

"Dad--that's not insubordination. Its rebellion. Subordinates are insubordinate. Kids rebel. Mind control incidents aside, they held their tongues for five years. Besides--wasn't this supposed to be part of a small joke?"

John shrugged.

"They sure weren't joking, just then. I can't handle that kind of backtalk."

Maureen looked at the man she loved.

"Kathryn can. And I expect she will. Since she won't be both their CO and their parent, she might never have to face it at all. Her command style tends toward brusque, to be certain. But it's what a ship in a vague, undefined situation needs."

Don brought the point home.

"John, you tried to play a game of peek-a-boo with two young adults, and they didn't laugh. Are you really that surprised?"

John Robinson said some words he had been dreading.

"If we stay here--I won't be CO anymore. I won't even be XO. If we go--we're still stuck in our universe's Delta Quadrant, more lost than ever. And little arguments like that one will eat us alive. We'll all end up like Smith!"

While that sobering thought sank in, Penny and Will flatly sulked and stewed.

"Penny--did we give up getting along with them to get along with each other?"

"No. Will--they gave up getting along with us. You can't lay down those kinds of terms and expect someone to like it and thank them for it."

Will looked over at the debate they had kicked themselves out of.

"I never spoke to Dad that way before. Even when that spectral-thing made all of you disappear that time."

Penny thought back.

"You were acting like a brat. But Dad and Mom do not handle deviation from the schedule well at all. Say, what was that thing, anyway?"

"He was like Trelane on Star Trek--he called himself a bad little boy."

"Sounds more like something out of The Twilight---Will?"

"Yeah?"

Penny looked about.

"That was a loud argument we just had with Dad, right?"

Will nodded on his folded hands.

"Way loud."

Penny looked about again, pointing as she did. 

"So why didn't a single crewmember even look up as we did?"

Will now looked, as well.

"Penny, you don't think we're..."

But both questions and debate were stifled by seven figures that beamed in from nowhere.  
Their menace and identity were obvious. Maureen looked on in horror. Despite the presence of a show that featured these creatures in their native universe, the adults had never had time to watch it recently, really only knowing what Janeway and her crew had briefed them on.

"Chakotay mentioned we were nearing their space, but I thought we were safe here!"

Don shook his head.

"Tom said they blew away thirty-nine starships in less than half a day. Maybe there is no safety anywhere."

John and Judy said nothing, as each worried for families started and starting.

Crewmembers began to fall, one by one, as a dread tinny echo filled the galley.

"We Are The Borg. You Will Be Assimilated And Made To Serve Us. Resistance Is Futile."

John Robinson smashed a chair at them, only to see it batted away without effort.

Maureen Robinson was luckier. Her salad fork went right into a circular, mirrored object. The sick pale thing jerked mightily and fell, but there were many others.

Don West did a split a little ballerina had taught him, and used a move he had seen in a movie. The attacker was punched in that one place no bipedal male could withstand without wincing. Then, Don realized--this one was female. He then uttered a line he had seen an android use in another movie, as planetfall came.

Judy Robinson made no move at all. The Borg were blocking the door, and severe exertion was out for a young woman in her first pregnancy. The Borg scanned and analyzed her.

"Subject Female Human In Early Stage Of Reproduction. Move To Assimilate."

The wires popped from the thing's fingers, till it was grabbed away by Will and Penny.

"Stop this!"

"We won't let you hurt her!"

The Borg stopped cold.

"Subjects of indeterminate humanoid species. Extremely High PK/Psi potential. Assimilation would be wholly rejected by auto-immune response. Move to destroy."

Will shouted again, but not at the Borg.

"Stop this! It isn't funny."

John wondered if his boy had gone insane, till he ciphered out exactly what he was saying. A quick nod from Penny confirmed his suspicions, and raised John's blood pressure inordinately.  
He said three words, in great anger.

"Computer---End Program."

The 'second galley' fell away, and the sparse walls of a holodeck replaced them.

The arch opened, revealing Captain Janeway, a commander very much convinced of the correctness of her efforts. Behind her were Chakotay and Paris, two men very much unconvinced of that same thing--and looking like it.

"You seemed to be leaning towards staying. To my mind, that meant you needed to be shown exactly what lies ahead of us. Once we enter Borg space, we could be dealing with them all the way home. Now, I realize the manner in which this was done was somewhat harsh..."

Judy suddenly seized her stomach.

"Oh...Ohh nooooo....please...someone..."

Janeway hit her Commbadge, her heart clearly in her throat.

"Janeway to Winchester! Doctor, we need an emergency beam-out for Judy Robinson!"

But before the replacement hologram could respond with another Boston-esque accented phrase, Judy straightened out, and smiled at a Janeway who was now frowning.

"Now, Captain--you may find my method of giving my opinion of your little game harsh..."

Kathryn bristled openly.

"Doctor Robinson, if you expect to serve under my command as anything other than a crewman, you won't pull something like that again. Understood?"

Judy walked up, and into Janeway's face.

"How did you know for certain that the stress of seeing that Borg ready to take me wouldn't cause me to really miscarry?"

John now felt a bit of a shift, and looked briefly at his two younger children.

"It was a grade-school joke, Kathryn. There were other, better ways to make us aware of what we might face. Don't pull rank to make yourself right. It didn't work for me."

She looked over at a man who had shared her bed in a moment of pure weakness.

"John--I did the right thing. Nobody likes ambush simulations, but their value is undeniable and valid. Now, when you're all calmed down, you can continue your debate. But you'll be a good deal more fully informed than you were before."

Maureen took Janeway's hand.

"It's already decided, Kathryn. We're staying. There's no reason for us to go back, when we have no prayer of ever reaching our Earth. I'll be helping in creating our crew assignments; just as soon you let me out of the brig."

Janeway shook her head, confused.

"Maureen--you're not staying in the brig."

Maureen held Kathryn's one hand tightly in her one hand, and slugged her unconscious with the other.

"Oh, yes, I am!"

* * *

LATER THAT DAY......

It was far from being the first tender moment between Torres and Paris. That had occurred when a Tom never seen by Be'lanna before had given her the strength to go on, when she had almost literally been sundered in two. But there and then, something approached them that only the cold vacuum of space would finalize, some months later.

"I still love her, Be'lanna."

She took the picture of the young woman who really did look eerily like the human Be'lanna once created by rapacious organ harvesters. She had been too weak to survive without Be'lanna's Klingon half. This woman, Mercedes 'Sadie' Rosanna Paris, had been too weak to fight off the mental illness that drove her to cajole her confused younger brother Thomas into an inherently unhealthy union.

"I still hate her, too."

He wasn't crying. He didn't need to. His pain was hideously apparent. Sadie had destroyed a relationship of light, joy, and pure friendship. Be'lanna pulled him up, and off the seat.

"Tom--talk to Will and Penny. Help them to see what the cost is. Tell them why it's wrong. You may be the only chance those kids have to keep from thinking it's all just another choice."

"Be'lanna---I don't know if I can. Besides-- you can see they're not mentally ill. Sadie was. They're both ten times more mature than I was at that age. They'll get through."

She turned away.

"Tom, the loneliness can make you insane. Trust me, there were times, when, if I had had a brother, I----"

Ignoring her temper and her strength, Tom grabbed her and shook her.

"Don't! Don't you *ever* say that! He would have been a warrior, with honor and all that stuff I hear you hold in contempt so often. You would have had a perfect, uncomplicated relationship. Barring out-and-out madness, you have a God-given duty to hold onto that at any and all costs! Because it is the one gift that every parent, from the perfect to the monstrous ones, give to their children. You don't have the right to even speculate about that. It goes by all kinds of names, Be'lanna. But it eats families alive--whole."

Be'lanna did not push him away, or threaten him in some way. She only spoke six words.

"Then talk to Will and Penny."

He looked at her, and did not kiss her. He didn't need to.

"You know---your father was kind of an undependable sort, who didn't stick around. A drifter who ran--that's what you told me."

She pointed at the door, but not in anger.

"Similar doesn't mean the same, Tom. If and when we find out about us--we'll keep the good and just deal with the rest as it comes. And it will come."

He walked towards the door.

"I'm counting on it."

* * *

Smith prepared to press the button.

"We, Mizzz Seska, have reached our denouement. Ashes--ashes--they all fall down."

In Neelix's body, Seska Marlis smiled.

"Doctor Smith--you have an almost Cardassian way with words."

"My dear--I'll choose to take that as a compliment."

On viewer, Smith took in all the players, as he had always taken them in.

* * *

GALLEY

With Torres by his side, Paris spared the younger Robinson siblings the details. The basics were quite gory enough.

"So guys--that's why I got you onto those holodeck programs. I was projecting one of the worst times of my life onto your situation. Can you forgive me?"

Torres saw Will and Penny look at one another. Penny spoke.

"Tom-you did the right thing. In a way, what you were trying to stop from happening between us--has already happened."

Will saw Torres almost blanch, and so added quickly to his sister's words.

"It was only a kiss---a big kiss. But it had us really worried--worried that we were some kind of freaks."

Be'lanna tried slightly to pretend that this whole subject didn't corrode her nerve endings.

"I'll tell you what's freaky. Penny's holo-friend and Will's holo-bathing beauties. They should have been able to pick up on what you two wanted without so much resistance."

Will thought of something.

"Be'lanna--is your regular EMH supposed to keep things secret, like a regular doctor?"

Tom answered, being a bit more of a holo-maven, despite Be'lanna's prowess.

"Absolutely. If you have a medical secret that doesn't affect ship's security, then he's the man--sort of--to tell."

Penny knew where Will was headed.

"Then why did he tell Judy--and maybe Captain Janeway--about Will and me kissing?"

Be'lanna shook her head.

"Seska."

Tom was confused.

"I thought you and me and Tuvok rooted her programs out, finally."

Torres explained her suspicion.

"We thought. But the same 12 kilogigs of read-only memory that keep the holodeck responding to a program's evolving needs also contains the Doctor's secondary ethical directives. The primary ones all contain a thousand thousand permutations of 'First--Do No Harm'. But the secondary ones contain guidelines on other more vague concerns, like keeping secrets."

Paris groaned.

"Good place for her to hide. The holodecks always give us grief, anyway, and The Doc's tongue is never noted for its grace and flow. Of course, that still doesn't explain why he vanished and Winchester showed up like---"

"Tom! The kids!"

And as the officers watched in horror, Will and Penny Robinson were beamed away, quite against their wishes.

* * *

BRIDGE

As they watched a smiling Harry Kim leave, Chakotay and John Robinson got to talking.

"John, as Tactical Officer, you'll be Third-In-Command. But please keep all Command disagreements private. This ship may look bigger than your Jupiter 2, but rumors of dissension travel faster than warp 17, if we had a warp 17."

Robinson looked around, and nodded.

"You really gave up a lot to make this work, didn't you, Mister Chakotay?"

Chakotay shrugged.

"Early on, a much angrier man decided that he could take this ship and play pirate or get the crew home. To get home, a ship needs one Captain. One."

John smiled.

"As long as Captain Janeway tries not to cut me off too often, I'll leave the Twentieth Century Male Ego in my cabin."

"Good to hear. Now--pick a panel and we'll start your training."

Robinson shook his head.

"Are they supposed to be cycling orange?"

"Orange? They only cycle orange when..."

Chakotay barely had time to get them both into The Ready Room before the explosion occurred.

* * *

BRIG

Captain Janeway was fuming.

"Maureen--why did you punch me over a simple disagreement in tactics?"

The other Doctor Robinson looked equally angry.

"Aside from the sheer childishness of using those Holo-Borg against my family for your little prank, Kathryn, did you hear what they called Will and Penny?"

Janeway shrugged.

"They called them Human."

Robinson rolled her eyes.

"They called them 'humanoids of an indeterminate species'. Those Borg all but broadcast that they aren't from Earth!"

Kathryn now felt a bit reduced.

"I--I didn't think. But the program should have caught it. For example--it didn't just up and identify that they weren't yours by birth. Plus--their holo-sensors shouldn't have been sensitive enough to detect such subtle differences."

The deck rumbled beneath them. Janeway looked about.

"Unless someone's been hiding in the holodecks lower program nodules. Computer--transport myself and Doctor Maureen Robinson into Shuttle Fourteen!"

Once in, Janeway and a confused Robinson were soon out--and through Voyager's bay doors.

"Kathryn--did we just abandon ship?"

"No, Maureen. We just beat a strategic withdrawal, for now. My own Smith just showed up again--for the last time, if I can help it."

The bay doors were now opening and closing at such a pace, they were like pulverizers. Captain Janeway had barely left her ship before once again losing control of it.

* * *

SICKBAY

Doctor Winchester bemusedly saw Robot B-9 roll in.

"Go--haway. I don't do cahrbeuraytors!"

A different voice than normal issued from the silvery sentinel of The Jupiter 2.

"Winchester, just shut up and help me to take back this ship!"

The Bostonian Hologram smiled.

"Ahhh--if it isn't the main EMH Mark One. Looking good as ever---not, that you really ever looked all that good, in the first place."

The displaced EMH groaned.

"They couldn't have given me Hunnicutt, could they?"

* * *

JUPITER 2

Don West had watched his pregnant girlfriend get whisked off by a transporter beam, but he did not cry out. Instead, he pulled out a knife, his laser, and a phaser he'd been issued. Dressing in colors meant to match Voyager's grey halls, he finally said a few words, a vow to the one he knew to be responsible for all this.

"Yippee--Kai-Yay, Smith!"

But as he departed, Tuvok was waiting. The Vulcan seemed to be unthinkably nervous.

"Please--let me help."

Lon Suder had begun the battle for his soul.

* * *

HOLODECK FOUR

Smith smiled at his unconscious hostages.

"I simply knew that I'd find real use for you urchins at some point."

Seska continued chanting in Neelix's body.

"Let the souls of Voyager be offered up; Let the dweller in The Funnel be released! Let a new Celestial Temple offer prayers to the lost brother of The Pagh Wraiths. These two children have escaped his just wrath before. But now, The Funnel shall be shattered, and The Tricephalan, Master Of Lightning, Will Reign Over All."

A self-satisfied Jonas asked Smith a question.

"Doctor--what the hell is a Tricephalan?"

Smith mused on that for a moment.

"I believe it is, my dear boy---some sort of creature that has---three heads."

The Funnel, a multiversal drain on all bad fortune, built to contain and destroy a great evil, stood as much at risk as any of the souls aboard The USS Voyager.


	10. Chapter Nine The End of The Beginning

**Chapter Nine - The End Of The Beginning**

If the chaos was another piece of Seska-inspired mischief--and it was far more than just that, Be'lanna Torres was ready. She hoped.

"Computer, am I allowed to access a word search?"

*Able To Comply.*

Strike Seska where she would never look, and where she was too arrogant to block, the Chief Engineer began.

"Can you lock this word search and its results to my private account?"

*Able To Comply.*

Of course, thought Torres. Why would Seska, who had likely placed her program in all the major systems, care about something so very harmless? A typical Cardassian error. After all, in Andenoi Three-Card Chitiroin, a Pair of Twos still beat a lone Ace.

"Word searches: The wicked mother in Solomon's fable of the disputed child; General Pyrrhus; Surak's warning of the final ascendancy of The Madness; Stalingrad; Mogh's last recorded cries at Khitomer; the last stand of Kodos' security forces at Tarsus Four. Begin."

Paris smiled lightly, despite the tense situation.

"A variation on the Data maneuver in Stratagema. I'm impressed."

Torres nodded. When Starfleet's famous cybernetic officer had actually forced an arrogant Zakdorn to quit a game of Stratagema, word had spread through the fleet like wildfire.

"If Voyager can't be ours for the moment, it sure as hell won't be Seska's, if I can help it."

Paris looked down, remembering.

"Yeah, but the kids are still hers. If it is her."

Be'lanna shook her head.

"It is. It all fits. Smith being able to overuse the replicator. The holo-tantrums. The Doctor's loose tongue. All indicative of a ghost in the secondary and tertiary memory modules."

Tom asked the question.

"Then how do we get her out, for good this time?"

Torres had no answer.

--------------------------------------------- 

Orbiting over the vulnerable ready room, one passenger of the escape shuttle piloted while another suited up. On the one hand, Maureen Robinson had no experience with a Starfleet space suit. But on the other hand, she had far more space walking experience than Kathryn Janeway, and could easily adapt to a suit many times lighter and more sophisticated than ones she'd trained with.

"Maureen--if I don't make it--support Captain Chakotay. And tell him that I kept him out of the loop so that he could have a fresh start, if the worst ever happens. No need for him to be seen lock stepping some hard choices I know the crew doesn't always like."

Maureen upped the ante on Janeway's request. 

"Kathryn--if I don't make it--my children need a mother. My husband needs a wife."

Before a stunned Janeway could respond, Maureen finished suiting up, and was in the mini-airlock, waiting to depart.

--------------------------------------------- 

John looked at the button.

"So--if we press this, the floor panels blow off, and we can escape through a Jeffries tube. But the slight explosion could rupture the windows and the hull, am I right?"

Chakotay nodded.

"Or we could encounter the best and worst variations on either scenario. It seems pretty much either-or."

Robinson felt Smith's hand in all this. He'd found an ally who'd fed him a line. Same as always, damn the man.

"The Lady Or The Tiger?"

Chakotay pressed the button.

"My grandfather hated stories that had no ending."

John gulped, thinking he could have held on without reading the last page just a little longer.

The floor merely shook, and did not fall away. A cracking noise was heard, but not for very long.

* * *

Realizing that he could not as yet reach Smith to wring his neck, Don West instead helped the shaking Tuvok, who claimed that he was actually a man named Lon Suder. A dead man named Lon Suder.

"So this Seska brought you back? Is Smith with her? What kind of line did she feed him?"

Suder-Tuvok shook his head.

"No line. He's worse than she is. Something about an alternate personality. He's also obsessed with your young people. Especially the blonde."

Judy.

"I always knew he was a traitor. But why are you trying to help me?"

"I'm-I'm trying to help Voyager. You see, I've been a killer. But I've never been a traitor."

--------------------------------------------- 

The fists of the Seska-possessed Neelix struck harder than anyone would have thought. Will Robinson was wheezing, and gasping for breath.

When he fell, Penny rushed to her brother's side, glaring at Neelix, whoever was inside of him.

"Don't do that, little lady. I was just paying him back, is all."

Doctor Zachary Smith smiled, and it was the smile of the hissing cobra.

"Perhaps, Penelope, you should favor young William with a kiss. In fact, I must insist that you do."

Seeing the phaser in his hand, she went to kiss her brother's forehead. Smith fired past her, and snarled.

"Kiss him fully--on the lips---"

He returned to his disturbing smile.

"...as I know you have before. Or do I need to remind you of Marlon Brando's means of negotiating an contract in The Godfather?"

Will opened his eyes, and they both again approached a moment they had alternately dreaded and prayed for, as demons watched. Their lips met, under threat of phaser from a turncoat they had never truly known, and the oddest thing followed.

The dread the two had felt gave way to something else. Sitting up, Will pulled back from Penny--and chuckled. She did the same, actually covering her mouth. Will Robinson looked at his sister. He was beginning to actually laugh as he spoke needed words.

"I can't believe how I've been afraid of you, all these months!"

Almost losing coherence to the joy of the release, Penny actually had to breathe in, while still breaking out in laughter as well.

"You? I've been moving--hurmheh--around you like you were made of pluton-hohahe-ium!"

They hugged, not an untoward thought on their minds. Someday, disaster and loneliness would strike them harder than any of Doctor Smith's schemes. Then, they would have to live with and deal with a radically new situation. But for now, they were just two young adults who slipped up and then moved on. In this, they were hardly unique. Smith looked on, the arisen master schemer completely unsure of what had just occurred.

"Why--why are you two at all happy? You should be humiliated--wholly undone by the open revelation of your transgression!"

Penny shook her head at the viper so long in their midst.

"I guess you really never were one of us, Doctor Smith. Or you'd know that a stupid kiss couldn't make me and Will into monsters. We're brother and sister. We love each other."

The spy and traitor fairly sneered.

"Deww spare me."

Despite his sore ribs, Will sat up further and picked up where his best friend had left off.

"You're the one who wanted to spy, Doctor Smith. Maybe you're not as good at analysis as you might think. Sure, you fooled us all. But then it was never really you, was it? In a way, I'm glad the other Doctor Smith is gone, too. He may have had his good qualities--but at heart, he was just another version of you."

Smith raised his phaser.

"Don't verge into the absurd, young man! That buffoon was to me what Mister Neelix is to a five-star chef. Both of the former have their uses. But they have aught to do with the latter."

Will Robinson got up, and walked within five paces of his betraying captor.

"He was you. Because he was also lazy, selfish, and threw in to any scheme that came along, no matter how untrustworthy his ally was. It's always been you, Doctor Smith. Always."

The Seska-possessed Neelix walked over, shaking his/her head.

"Untrustworthy? Me? Caretaker, Mister Jonas. Come here."

The Second Caretaker Entity and the late Mister Jonas, using the forms of Kes and Harry Kim, respectively, answered their benefactor's call. She/he gestured at the Robinsons.

"I want to use a technique the Pagh Wraiths themselves showed me, to shut these two up."

Jonas ground Harry's fist into his palm.

"Sounds good to me. I'm in."

The now vengeance-crazed Caretaker sneered.

"Anything not to have to hear their whiny voices again."

Seska-in-Neelix smiled.

"Good."

Wordlessly, he/she touched her servitors' backs, drawing out energy as she/he did. The two physically screamed, and then a sort of psychic cry was heard. Seska/Neelix held up two balls of energy. She/he looked at Will and Penny as the possessed people collapsed.

"You know what, Will? I really *am* an untrustworthy ally."

The ball that had been Jonas, she hurled out through the hull. A portal began to form in the void of space. Smith looked on, less in horror or fear than curiosity.

"Mizzz Seska? The point of this lightshow is?"

"Well, Doctor. It's like this. See, the Pagh Wraiths themselves feed on innocents. But the portal to them needed to be opened by one of a like nature. Mister Jonas was qualified. Overqualified, really. But I let him keep his job, anyway."

Will and Penny pulled Harry and Kes over to them. The pair had yet to regain consciousness. Smith paid this no mind, as he queried Seska further.

"And what of the equally vapid Caretaker?" 

Neelix's face smiled.

"I'm glad you asked that, Doctor."

The energy ball was cast down on the deck, and the holo-emitters sprung to life, shaping and reshaping these powerful sparks, guided by Seska's obsessive will. A body formed from it all, and Neelix fell like the others. His purpose had been served. The new body stood up, briefly nude, then clad in holo-raiment.

"There. Isn't that much better?"

Seska Marlis stood as a thing reborn, aboard the ship that had seen her death. Smith clapped, with whatever passed for sincerity in him.

"Bravo, my dear. Osama himself couldn't have wriggled out of death's grasp any better!"

Seska pointed.

"Now him---I know. Your planet's history had some nearly Cardassian thinkers, Doctor. A pity the small-minded all slammed them down."

A new voice was heard.

"Y-hes. A pity about those small-minded people who didn't want dichtatoers. They do tend to rhuin every-thing."

Seska and Smith looked over. So did Will, Penny, and their awakening companions. A man was scanning the still-unconscious Judy Robinson. Smith shouted.

"You! Just where did you come from?"

The back-up EMH in the form of Charles Emerson Winchester never even turned to look at Smith as he responded.

"Boston, my dear fellow."

Smith shook his head.

"Boston?"

Finding that Judy and her child were in good health for the moment, the temp EMH looked at Smith.

"Boston, Ma-ha-ssachusetts. Zachary, I know you're not too terribly bright. But at least dew try and keep up?"

While Smith prepared to deal with the new EMH, an angry reborn Seska took note of something.

"Be'lanna--what did you do?"

None of the controls were responding to her commands. Or, apparently, any one's commands.

"Torres--you bore me. A stalemate stratagem? We had a Solomon on Cardassia, too. But guess what happened to the disputed baby?"

She initiated a sequence, and then smiled.

"Eat gagh and die, old friend."

The holodeck where the saboteurs were holed up was stable. The same could not be said for the rest of the ship.

* * *

With local inertial dampeners negated, the sudden jolt upward threw almost everyone on the deck forward and then back again, in near free-fall. Only Torres and Paris, holding on to the edges of a Jeffries tube entrance, escaped basically unscathed. Be'lanna called Tom by a name she hadn't used in well over a year.

"Starfleet? When we find whatever hole Seska's using--don't get in my way!"

Tom nodded.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Chief."

But Tom decided to silently leaven that assurance, if any of the Robinson children should come to harm.

* * *

In the shuttlebay, Don West and the Suder-possessed Tuvok barely boarded the Jupiter 2 in time to seal the hatch.

"Suder? What the hell's going on?"

The dead man looked outside through the eyes of the only real friend he'd ever known. It was like a hurricane.

"It's Seska. She's opened the bay doors and turned off the protective fields. I mean, I was a sociopath, with some kind of brain problem. What's her excuse?"

While Suder worried and Don quietly swore that this wouldn't stop him from finally strangling Doctor Smith, a being with built-in magnet tracks strolled through the storm outside and casually hit the manual override on the bay doors. West smiled as he saw who it was. He opened the Jupiter 2's hatch.

"Robot!"

The voice of the main EMH sounded from the mechanoid, though.

"Not quite, Major. But more on all that later."

Another voice came from the Jupiter 2's speakers.

"Doctor. I am gratified that you have made it back here, as we agreed. I look forward to resuming my mobility."

West turned around, a little stunned.

"Robot? You're in the ship's computers?"

In Tuvok, Suder felt a bit dizzy.

"Isn't anybody in their real bodies, right now?"

Robot's disembodied voice sounded an alert.

"Danger! Yet another rift is forming outside of Voyager. My sensors detect--its danger to all of us is nearly infinite!"

--------------------------------------------- 

Outside of Voyager, Captain Janeway watched in horror from the shuttle as a now-unmoored Maureen flew off into space with a helpless John Robinson and Chakotay in tow.

"Oh, My God!"

Kathryn got up, and hit the button that she prayed would not be rotted, attached to the relays she prayed would not be corroded, leading to the power source she prayed would not be depleted, and to a pattern buffer she fervently prayed was not in the worst shape possible.

Earlier that year, the shuttlecraft in question had been recorded as lost and destroyed. It had already happened quite often, since their trip began, so no one thought anything of it. Only Janeway and Chakotay knew that the entire incident had been faked, and only Janeway herself had the access codes. Chakotay had similar locked access to another shuttle, also supposedly destroyed. Locked away and unattended, they were limited safeguards against another total takeover like Seska's.

"Work, damn you!"

This meant that they could not be maintained properly, except by the CO and XO themselves. Not Tuvok. Not Torres. Not Paris. Not Harry. They had to be a surprise, capable of leaving the top two free to act, or at least telling one that the other had been compromised.

"They're forming. Don't get lost, people."

They appeared, as three whole people, not one hideous blob or multiple pieces. John Robinson was gasping for breath, obviously having held his breath through the entire three-minute ordeal. His NASA training had come to save his life. Chakotay was still unconscious. Maureen removed her helmet and looked at her rescuer.

"Why didn't you just do that in the first place? And don't tell me it's because it wouldn't have been funny!"

Instead of answering, Captain Janeway lifted the cover-plate of the emergency transporter control. Maureen Robinson winced at the sight of the fused circuit boards. Kathryn nodded.

"I had one shot to catch all of you. And I barely had that."

Tending to her husband before checking on Chakotay, Maureen asked the next big question.

"So how do we get back on board? The garage door, so to speak, is broken."

Kathryn did a quick medi-scan of Chakotay, and then gave both men a tri-ox shot. Only then did she reveal her ace.

"Every garage has a side-door that I remember."

When they had reached the underside of the ship, adjacent to the shuttle bay, that side-door opened. Barely wide enough for the shuttle to work through, the shoehorn-looking opening was also quick to close up.

"Kathryn--is that our cavalry?"

Stunned by the sudden opening, but far enough away to avoid being sucked out, Don West and what appeared to be Tuvok and the Robot went to greet them. Janeway got a taste of the odd situation when she and the other three got off the shuttle. Robot spoke with the voice of her main EMH.

"Mister Suder, I'll need you to be my hands while I revive Commander Chakotay and Doctor Robinson."

Tuvok smiled, and waved at the Captain.

"Hi, Captain. It's good to see you again."

While Janeway figured out how to speak to a formerly living formerly psychotic crewman, Don West spoke to Maureen Robinson, gathering weapons at Kathryn's request.

"Smith has teamed up with someone called Seska. They have the kids, including Judy."

Maureen gripped the phaser rifle she had chosen as her own.

"Not for long they don't!"

A loud thud pulled away all their attentions, as a Jeffries tube opened above them, dumping Torres and Paris in the shuttle-bay. Tom looked at Be'lanna.

"So, you know where every Jeffries tube in this ship leads, huh?"

Be'lanna shrugged.

"Hey, at least I chose a popular spot!"

* * *

In his dreams or perhaps visions, Chakotay saw his father.

"My son. You approach the vast wasteland of Minnow that contains the secret name of Seska Marlis. Another spirit will aide you, once you have made your discovery. Be ready. And beware the Funnel-Dweller. For you have not the rocks to repel him."

Chakotay nodded.

"Great phrasing there, Dad."

* * *

In the supposedly secure Holodeck Four, the villainous true persona of Doctor Smith tried to find out how the back-up EMH made it into his and Seska's stronghold.

"You, sir. What aaare you doing here?"

The holo-matrix that greatly resembled a 20th Century Terran physician named Charles Winchester turned from his finished scans of the pregnant Judy Robinson. He stood up, smiling at a man who only thought he knew how to be haughty.

"Zachary. Come now. Shuerly you remember us having this discussion already. You can't be that fahgetful--or can you? Far be it from me to impose limitations upon yuir limitations- -eheheh--limitations."

Frowning a bit more each time, Smith tried to regain his footing, never quite realizing what he was losing in the process.

"You dew realize that the dear Robinson children are my hostages?"

Winchester turned and looked at the younger two Robinsons. He appeared nonflustered.

"Why, yhes--it would appeahr that they are. Puts me on best behavior, I suppose. May I examine them?"

Smith held his phaser in a manner that one of the real Winchester's colleagues would have called Freudian.

"Certainhly not! At least, not until you tell me, hologram, how you got in here!"

Seska added in from the background.

"And don't tell us you are an automatic function. Your predecessor as EMH got away with that on me. Once. Just once."

Winchester merely shrugged.

"I am far from being so very automatic, Mizz Seska. I am a backup EMH. I have the skills necessary to perform my appointed tasks, and the overt personality engrams of the man whose name I bear with distinction. But my late predecessor failed to give me a number of subroutines. Among those--I have no limits on my proactive efforts. The Main EMH M1 could only go where he was permitted. I may go wherever there is an emitter. And so forth. In short, I sensed you altering these children's life-signs by means of some force. I sought them out. Now--may I be about my business? Or are you quite as dense as ole' Zacky?"

Seska smiled, then fired her phaser at the neo-EMH. Winchester merely phased directly beside her.

"Well, I suppose that answers that, doesn't it. N-how--my patients!"

Leaning down near Will, the EMH used the advanced medical instruments he had so recently decried to undo at least some of the injuries the young man had sustained while Seska held possession of Neelix's body. Without moving his holo-mouth, he spoke to Will in a low whisper.

"I can get exactly one of you out. Choose."

Will grabbed at his sore ribs, and pointed.

"Doctor, you should really check on my sister Judy. She's pregnant."

Winchester played his part and pulled back a bit.

"Really, young man! Are you the Doc-tor, here? I rather think not! Your eldest sister appears to be resting comfortably. I'll check on her at my own pace, thank you very much."

Smith walked over to the EMH, grinning like a jackal.

"Good show, sir! Long have I awaited someone with the wherewithal to quiet his overeager bleatings."

Winchester casually turned and looked back at the hostage-holder.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry--Zack. Were you saying something?"

While Smith's grin turned to frown, Winchester repeated his disguised query while treating Penny. She too got the message.

"Will can be an annoying brat, but he's right, Doctor. Judy needs your help, more than either of us. Maybe Harry and Kes, too."

Winchester put his hand to his head, and then appeared to slap Penny across the face. In fact, his hand phased through her, but only she and Will could see this. She reacted as she had been bid.

"Owww!"

Will threw in with a sneer.

"Serves you right!"

Winchester pointed with a grand flourish.

"Were the two of you raised in an barn? Have you no manners at all? I will move upon your sister's situation at my leisure--not before!"

Seska now did as Smith had before.

"First do no harm, correct, Doctor? And don't ignore me as you did Smith."

The neo-EMH shrugged.

"You are not Smith, Madam. In any event, yes, I do have routines dealing with the oath of Hippocrates, of course. But social niceties extended to my lessers are a burden my predecessor had no time to place me under. Now--may I see to the Voyager crewmembers? They, and not these mendicant rug rats, are my primary responsibility, after all."

Seska gripped her phaser, fired, and hit Kes, who screamed as she awoke. Will and Penny were warned away from her side by Smith.

"Now, children---be good. Or at least be still."

Seska pointed her weapon at the hologram.

"See to Kim. Kes is going away--two months early. Computer--lock onto Kes and activate *Seska Enabran's Hatch*."

Kes was transported away. Her body appeared outside the ship, and entered the rift. As scanners confirmed this, Seska smiled yet again.

"A meal for the Funnel-Dweller. She won't be getting around much, anymore."

Seska turned to give the holo-Doctor further instructions, but saw that he was already attending to Harry Kim. A bit confused, she reasoned that perhaps this EMH really was the disinterested party the deleted previous one had pretended to be.

"Mister Kim--your status?"

The barely-there eternal Ensign looked up.

"Doc? Did you put on weight?"

Winchester smiled at Seska.

"He's as alert as ever!"

Actually stopping to put his instruments away before walking over to the slowly-stirring Judy, the hologram gave every appearance of a man bothered at being away from 18 rounds of holographic golf. At last, perhaps he did this too well. Time had run out. Smith pointed.

"Mizzzz Seska--I believe its time he joined his predecessor."

Seska was a practiced liar. She had even chosen to be remade in her Bajoran disguise, when resurrected, in memory of one of her better lies. So she knew how to spot a liar, as well.

"Too true. Computer--delete backup EMH. Authorization Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy--then Tailor again."

Winchester patted his hand over his mouth, in a yawning motion.

"Madam--no real subroutines means no deletion protocol. I was never meant to be unleashed, you know. It was your ham-handed assassination attempt upon my predecessor that is the root cause of your frustration. Now, onto Mizzzz Robinson and the littler Mizzzz Robinson."

Judy looked up as he continued over to her. She was confused, to say the least.

"Doctor Winchester?"

"There, there child. This will all be over, quite soon."

Seska was now livid, and close to shouting.

"You've got that right. Computer--turn off holo-emitters on this deck!"

Winchester, who had picked up the main EMH's portable emitter where it had fallen, did not fade away. Something else did, though, as Penny's chuckling revealed.

"Well, that was a mistake!"

Will had an evil grin on his face.

"Not from my end--or from hers."

Seska looked down, and realized that while her new body had been made wholly real, her clothes had been entirely holographic. Had been, that is.

"Computer--reinitialize holo-emitters!"

The good people of that room never heard lovelier words than what followed next.

"Unable To Comply."

Despite all her training and a billion other factors, Seska moved to cover herself with her phaser-rifle. For more reasons than one, Will chose this point to rush her.

"Looking to grab something soft, you little pervert?"

Angry that his family had been threatened by this latest ally of the obviously-traitorous Doctor Smith, Will did not grab anything soft, so to speak. He face-butted her.

"If I ever get that desperate, I'll give you a call!"

In the confusion, the holo-Winchester developed a grim look. Shaking, he phased his hand inside Judy's belly.

"Forgive me, dear girl. It will all be made right again."

But all Judy felt was a world of pain. She cried out.

"The baby! He's killed the baby!"

Seska finally punched Will away from her. She too, screamed.

"No! There must be a pure innocent to sacrifice to the Funnel-Dweller, or he can't be controlled!"

Grasping a woman who now hated him, Winchester transported out. Smith looked at the scanners.

"A one-time protocol. He apparently used his own holo-matrix to enable her departure--if I am in fact reading these wretched things correctly. Oh--by the way---"

Smith fired a shot that hit Penny squarely in the shoulder. Harry Kim, now fully awake, and feeling as useless as ever, grabbed her as she fell. Kim glared, and Smith nodded.

"She's simply not as attractive as her sister. Personal taste, don't you know."

"Smith! Hold the boy!"

Her anger and the loss of two valuable pawns overcoming her modesty, Seska handed Will over to her ally. She slapped and then gut-punched the boy.

"Did wrestling with a naked woman turn you on, punk? I have a fate for you I had planned for your sister's child."

She gestured, and a red light, pulsing and twirling, appeared beside her.

"This is a Pagh Wraith--a living god. Take a good look at it--it's about to replace your very soul."

* * *

SICKBAY

Judy had stopped shrieking.

"My baby's alive?"

The Winchester-holo nodded.

"I merely transported the fetus here, to a waiting bio-stasis field in Sickbay. That was simple. Child's play."

The scientist in her spoke next.

"What about putting it back inside me?"

The neo-EMH frowned.

"That--is not child's play."

* * *

THE SHUTTLEBAY

Janeway shook her head, almost disbelieving, despite the evidence.

"Mister Suder, you're saying that Seska hooked up with some Bajoran devils, who want to unleash an even greater evil?"

Inside Tuvok, Lon Suder shrugged.

"Captain, I was a psychotic, but I was never delusional. Besides, even if Seska is deluded, she's still going to act like she believes it all. I know I never had your trust, when I was alive..."

Kathryn took his hand.

"No. But you earned my gratitude. You got my ship back, then. Help us do so again, now. Plot out an assault on Holodeck Four. Anything to add, anyone?"

Paris spoke.

"Captain, there's something you should all know about Smith. Something historical."

* * *

THE FUNNEL

Kes fell, only vaguely wondering why her body hadn't immediately undergone explosive decompression. The cold, she felt. But it was a disquietingly familiar cold. She saw an older flying man in a red and blue suit bat back a screeching fireball, ending a great and nearly infinite crisis. She saw a giant with a scarred throat losing to a much smaller man, and the storm that resulted from his decapitation. She saw a little man who once thought he'd rule the world putting a bullet to his brain in a small bunker. She saw a grinning maniac be put to final death by the justice system he held in contempt, while a dark knight watched in satisfaction. She saw a man Tom had called Khan Singh be literally heckled from power. A young blonde woman mangled every last possession of three murderous but awkward young men, who killed themselves as she at last tore their 'Silver Surfer' image-books apart.

All this fallen evil fell past her, but not into hell as she'd heard it described. No, not hell. Someplace worse. For there were supposedly no innocent bystanders in hell.

"Help me--someone!"

*I can help you*, said a voice in her head. *I am the guardian of this place, though currently I'm fenced in, as it were. But if I send you back, you must keep in the Funnel-Dweller. Will you fight my enemy?*

"I don't have the power!"

It spoke to Kes once more.

*I can awaken your power. But once awakened, it will be out of control, soon enough.*

Kes winced. She had thought that finding out that her vicious 'future-self' had in fact been the Second Caretaker would free her from the future that had been foretold.

"Do it. Consequences be damned!"

As Kes's consciousness rose, she saw her benefactor--a thirteen-year old Human boy locked in a cryo-chamber, and not for his own good.

*I'll be free one day--now go and protect your friends.*

A dark cloud nanoseconds ahead of her, Kes again made for her second home aboard The USS Voyager. Despite literally having problems of her own, she thought back to the lost boy in the Funnel.

*Take care, kid. I hope your story ends happily.*

* * *

HOLODECK FOUR

As Will barely rolled with Seska's kick, she turned once again to the man who was her supposed ally.

"Doctor Smith--I really need to keep that portal open. It remains open through the life-forces of the corrupt. You're elected."

"A decision, Mizzz Seska that I will see to it that you regret!"

Still groggy, Harry Kim whispered to the half-conscious Penny Robinson while the two villains broke apart.

"Did *anybody* not see this coming?"

Seska shook her head at Smith's rather predictable boast.

"I expected better of you, Doctor, though I don't know why. But first things first. Computer, reinitialize holo-emitters."

Seska was perhaps hoping to regain some of her lost dignity, or the appearance of control. But the bikini that appeared on her drew a frustrated frown from her and a hidden grin from Harry Kim.

"Score one for Tom Paris."

Smith took joyful note of the holo-prank that Paris had doubtlessly meant for Be'lanna Torres.

"You, madam, are a fool. You seek to betray your only ally at a time when your advantages are dwindling quicker than Major West's IQ numbers."

"You weren't going to betray me?"

"Well, yes, of course I was. But I choose to do it at this time, when my advantages are at their grand maximum, thanks to you. Your undead allies are now truly dead. Your Pog Rats--or whatever you choose to call them, saw fit not to rebirth you with clothes. Your pure innocent was stolen out from under you by an itinerant video character made flesh. And doubtless Voyager's rather pedantic, drearily predictable crew is on the verge of undoing your many varied doings."

Seska circled around, phaser in hand, as Smith followed her motions and did the same.

"Let's discuss failures of opportunity, Smith. By now, you were to have blackmailed these two children into submission, using their kiss, as it were, to seal their obedience to you."

Smith's shrug was a bit more manufactured than usual, and Seska knew it.

"Events have perhaps...moved beyond such matters. Obviously, the Robinsons are now dead, else they and the execrable Major West would have contacted us, offering both cajolery and carnage to purchase their release. Had we needed them for such, we could have extorted William and Penelope into helping us set up quite the trap."

Seska shook her head.

"No, I don't believe so. You tried to humiliate them with another kiss, and they merely laughed. They're good kids, Doctor- -and I hate good kids. They're so truly hard to predict. For another example, just what happened a few hours back, when you regaled them with the *epic* tale of how you kept your true personality in abeyance, those five years?"

Smith almost gulped, but fought it back.

"They--were stunned, to hear just how easily they'd been duped. How easily they'd all been duped. Why, I daresay that contemplating the very width, length and breadth of my grand deception robbed them of their over-used ability to speak--and then to pontificate."

Seska smiled, and her shrug was not at all forced.

"No. They weren't shocked, or even surprised, 'Zacky'. What you told them merely confirmed what they already knew. After all, your personality switch could hardly erase their memories of your early attempts to kill their family. No, the Robinsons have that second form of innate gullibility, called charity by some. I shame myself for not seeing it sooner. You are not a master spy. You are a master fraud. You knew all your worlds' great beasts. You worked for all the dirty dealmakers, in every government. You manipulated the terrorists who manipulated others. You worked for an organization beyond all of them, to hear you tell it. You spun a good yarn, Doctor. But perhaps now that I'm in a body of my own again, immune from the threat of your brain-shocks, I can see that you knew no one at all of any import. You were a small-time saboteur who made the small-timer's trademark mistake of setting the fuse with not enough time to get away."

Smith's dander had been seen quite often. His temper, on the other hand, had been a rarer thing. Until now.

"Howwww daaaaare yewww, Mad-am?! How dare you speak to Doctor Zachary Smith in such a manner? Especially when one considers your own checkered past. Let's have a look at that, shall we? You traded a secure berth on the most tech-no-logically advanced ship in this quadrant for a concubine's lot with the least advanced space-faring species around. How very Luciferian. You obsessed over two members of its command crew, to your own detriment, rather than seeding some kind of Maquis rebellion from without. Your one and only inside man was treated shabbily, and smoked out rather easily, when the time came. And at last when you took this ship using a lathered fanatic, it was taken back from you by the three least socially apt members of this crew. One of whom has obviously betrayed you, despite his post-revival confusion. Where *is* dear Mister Suder?"

Both traitors pulled back from one another.

"And yet, Doctor Smith, we both have phasers."

"Indeed, Mizzz Seska. That puts the odds at fifty-fifty, I believe."

She smiled anew.

"No. The odds are seventy-five to twenty-five--in my favor."

Helping Will to his feet, Seska then pointed at Smith.

"My Lord of The Pagh. I offer you this fetid soul, to keep well the gates to your true temple!"

Will rubbed his head, from where it had been kicked.

"I liked you better without the bikini."

Impossible, thought Seska. Yet, it was now horribly apparent. The psychic cry she'd heard had not been Will Robinson's. It had belonged to the Pagh Wraith--as it died within the boy. With her free hand, she struck at Will again, shaking in pure rage.

"What Are YOU?!"

Smith pulled back, feeling himself the victor, whatever the reality was.

"Did I fail to mention that William, while under the influence of a gadfly alien who had the most annoying habit of popping his mouth with his hand, showed tre-men-dous psionic potential? Hmmm? Well, I think I must have. So sorry for your Pog Rat, m'dear. As to what he is, he is a bother and a nuisance. While I am..."

Under holo-cloak, Smith vanished, his voice echoing across the room.

"...the little man who isn't there. Thank you oh so much for the perfectly wondrous access, Seska. Ta-ta for now--and for later, should your bikini top come off once more."

Outside the ship, one of the three portals closed. The Pagh Wraiths had followed Smith's lead in abandoning the hapless Seska. Inside, four arches appeared, and a Smith-image darted out through each of them. Seska fired at them, to no avail. As Harry Kim tried to rush her, she fired to stun, needing hostages now more than ever. Pushing a still-groggy Will to the floor, she pointed.

"You monster. You've ruined everything. But I'll still feed you to the Funnel-Dweller."

She gave him a kick to the stomach. She did not see the glare and determination building in an enraged Penny Robinson.

* * *

Kes saw the hull of her home, amazed more at this sight than the fact that she was moving unaided through the void. But a great task lay ahead of her. Alighting on the left nacelle, she saw the darker energy cloud begin to form in the distance.

"That poor boy said that you shouldn't be permitted to emerge. That sounds like some very good advice to me."

Three rings of colored energy appeared, now. One red, one green, and one golden. From these emerged long, tube-like shapes, kilometers in length and width. Topping these off in turn were the shapes of heads, one horned with spikes, one horned with protrusions that looked like the raised ears of a wolf, and one with a single, blunted middle-head horn.

"Maybe the best advice I've ever gotten."

By instinct as much as by the implanted thoughts from that time-lost Prince, Kes held her hands in front of her waist, open-palmed and cupped, just inches apart from one another. She felt the fantastic energies begin to build.

"They're too much. No one can handle this kind of power!"

Perhaps the boy had implanted more thoughts than just instructions in Kes, for she saw another realm, also the Delta Quadrant. But it was neither hers nor the one the Robinsons had accidentally entered into. In this, The Borg that the Captain so feared fell away to nothing. The Krenim she had seen in her life-vision fared no better. Her own people died in an underground hell, the Caretakers no match at all for what came. Till at last, only one survivor remained, his sole company an abusive Borg-altered Terran probe that nevertheless grieved when the survivor died. He had gone by a different name, and been born centuries earlier, to live a vastly different life. Yet his true identity was unmistakable.

"Neelix."

Then, she saw her own Neelix, heart broken by how quickly she turned away, after an incident where he failed to prove a swashbuckling hero. Kes saw his love turn to hate, providing one of three roads Seska had needed to make her comeback.

"It was me. I helped cause all this."

But she did not let the rage distract her. Rather, she let it focus her energies, and these she released in a gold tidal wave of power, to drive the funnel-dweller back--just as his hateful image fully coalesced.

"A dragon?"

Whatever it was, it now went back where it belonged, and to a destined final battle with the forces that prince would gather to him.

"Now for you, Seska."

Placing her hand to her forehead, she teleported into Seska's stronghold on Holodeck Four. The spy's attentions were elsewhere, but quickly saw the returnee.

"You!"

"Me. Your Funnel-Dweller is gone, Seska. Give it..."

Then, Kes saw her own body. Energy was leaking like a sieve. She had gained the power to save a universe, but lost something vital in the process.

"No! I can remain on Voyager."

By sheer will, she forced her form back to full corporeality. Nauseous and weary, she fainted, and Seska turned ever more of her frustration on Will Robinson. This was to prove a huge mistake, as proved when an angry voice rang out.

"Don't-You Touch HIM!"

* * *

With his attention wandering from the recent visions he'd had, Chakotay didn't catch what Paris had told them about Doctor Smith. He only heard the reactions to it. But these would prove pivotal.

"John, just what did we bring on board with us?"

"Someone we never wanted, never knew, and were right to be suspicious of, darling."

"Yeah, well I say, our personal evil Gilligan gets booted. Captain Janeway is CO of Voyager, not Skipper of The Minnow."

Chakotay felt a chill, and pointed at Don West.

"Major, tell me everything about The Minnow. And I mean--everything."

Kathryn Janeway looked at her First Officer.

"Chakotay, I think they were referring to some sort of video fiction."

The XO nodded, in free concession of his request's bizarre nature. He couldn't define why the word 'Minnow' had set him off, but it had.

"Captain, please. This information may provide the key to ridding us of Seska, for good this time."

Janeway raised a finger.

"For even a real hint of that possibility, I will allow this. But people--make it fast."

Don did just that.

"The show was called Gilligan's Island. Kind of a take-off on Robinson Crusoe, and the lead character would always mess up their rescue attempts. Oh, and the name Minnow? It was an in-joke. See, Minow--with one N--was the FCC Commissioner at that time, and he called television 'a vast wasteland'. Chakotay, no offense--but what does this have to do with Seska or Smith?"

Chakotay smiled.

"Victory. Give me access to all your TV files. Kathryn--I'll join you soon."

As the others left to begin an assault on Holodeck Four, Chakotay entered the Jupiter 2. His chance to finally close an old chapter in his life weighed upon him.

"Robot? You up for a file search?"

Within the Jupiter 2's computer banks, the voice of B-9 responded.

"Affirmative, Commander Chakotay. I am at your disposal."

Even with a guiding mind like Robot's, Chakotay knew only the right questions would be of any real use in his search.

"How many of these television programs dealt with Cardassians?"

"There are over one hundred entries, both in fully accessible and in summary form."

Chakotay frowned, briefly.

"That many? But weren't such programs proprietary to a few individuals?"

"That is correct. However, very often, the copyright-holders would allow parodies and satires to go unchallenged. One such show was called 'NBC's Saturday Night', and in 1995 featured a 'Family Feud' between Cardassians and a similar-looking race from a show called Babylon 5..."

Chakotay felt more on-track now.

"Robot, exclude parodies, satires, and er, discussion groups from your search."

"There are seventeen entries, Commander."

Chakotay knew that Janeway's patience would soon run out. This quest had to seem ridiculous to her. It seemed barely tenable to him.

"Include only those shows that actually feature Cardassians."

"There are four. The Cardassians were introduced in 1981 on the Star Trek Series, Phase Two. They were more fully explored in The Next Generation. They played a pivotal role in Deep Space Nine. They were part of an initial premise, later largely abandoned, for Voyager."

Chakotay said words he once would have never thought to even contemplate.

"Show me the Cardassian-based episodes of Voyager."

"I cannot. Will and Penny Robinson deleted all episodes of the later two shows of the Star Trek series. But through episode summaries, Tom Paris has determined that these adventures precisely coincide with events already familiar to you and the crew of Voyager."

Chakotay nodded. He was closer than ever.

"Exclude Voyager, and also exclude any episodes that do not deal with altered Cardassian spies."

"There are two entries, both episodes of Deep Space Nine, and they are thematically linked."

Target acquired.

"Read me as detailed a synopsis as possible of the earlier of those two episodes."

"October 24, 1994, Airdate. Third Season. Episode Title: Second Skin. Taken captive, Major Kira Nerys is told by Cardassian intelligence that she was in fact a deep-cover spy for the Obsidian Order, and that her true name was..."

A minute later, Chakotay ran through the decks to join the others. Noting that the ship was a great deal more stable than before, he hit his commbadge.

"Chakotay to Torres. Is the ship ours again?"

The Chief Engineer responded quickly to her old captain.

"For the moment, Commander. Seska's countering efforts must have hit a snag. I've almost cleared out all her commands. At least those I can find right now. Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, Be'lanna. I did."

For true names contain power. When he met with the others just outside Holodeck Four, Janeway looked at him.

"Commander, we have either a problem or an opportunity. Someone has undone Seska's magno-seal on the arch doors. I don't tend to trust such blind luck."

"You think it's a trap? Well, Kathryn, the Maquis had a policy about traps. It wasn't always wise, but it got results."

Maureen and John stared numbly at the door. Maureen finally spoke.

"Let's trip it, then. Those lunatics have my children!"

A voice came over Janeway's commbadge.

"Not so, Dhactor Robinson. Judy is hahr in Sickbay with me. Mother and child are doing as w-hell as can be expected, given the circahmstances. She could use company. As---could I."

The holo-Winchester sounded nervous and tired, but he gave welcome news. John looked at Major West.

"Don--go to her. Tell Judy we will be back soon, with her brother and sister."

"I'm gonna hold you to that, John. So will she."

Yet as Don left their company, some shouts among passing crew gave him a different priority.

"Who was that lunatic?"

"One of the guests. He was firing that phaser like it had a hair-trigger. I think he was headed for their ship in the shuttlebay."

Don stopped, and thought of his love for Judy, their child, and all the Robinsons. But this was savagely overwhelmed by the hate he felt embodied in one spat-out word.

"Smith."

In a decision he would come to regret, he made not for the Sickbay, but for the shuttlebay.

* * *

Inside the holodeck rendered quite vulnerable by Smith's departure, Seska registered Penny Robinson coming at her. But though she moved to raise her phaser rifle, the spy found it batted out of her hands, sliding well away from her grasp. An enraged Penny backhanded her with power belying her frame and size.

"Don't You Touch Him!"

While planning her counterattack, Seska tried an old tack.

"So you *do* fancy him for your..."

But a sock to the jaw stopped her in mid-taunt. Penny meant deadly serious business. The teenager's opened palm shoved the Cardassian back into the deck wall, and again the refrain was heard.

"Don't You Touch Him!"

The spy learned an old lesson anew that day. Allies and schemes are of little help against fists and kicks and rage. Penny's every blow landed square. Seska's every blow was blocked without effort. There was a tearing sound as Penny ripped off her bikini top.

"Wait! What are you doing?"

If Seska worried that Penny now had a prurient interest in her, she was wrong. For the stretchy top had a far more utilitarian purpose--and one that was far grimmer, as well.

"Don't You Touch Him!!!!"

There would be many psychological reasons why Penny was doing all this, some healthier than others. But as the assembled crews burst in, they saw only that Penny was strangling Seska Marlis with her own top. Her voice was a screech of anger. Her eyes and face did not seem merely that of an angry older sister. John and Maureen would not ever forget the sight.

"Penny, don't!"

"Penny, darling, she's not worth it!"

But she kept right on, only answering her parents briefly.

"She hurt Will. She has to pay."

A stun-set phaser blast whizzed by Penny's ear, and she dropped a gasping Seska. Captain Janeway lowered her phaser.

"She will pay, Penny. That much I guarantee. But we are not like her. We are not murderers."

From out of B-9's circuits re-emerged the standard EMH. He sent Robot's body to reunite with his essence in the Jupiter 2's memory banks. He ran for Seska.

"She was dying anyway, Captain. With her benefactors gone, her rebirth is being undone as we speak."

Yet oddly, Seska merely laughed.

"I won't pay, Captain. All of you will. I found three psychic inroads with which to make my return. Neelix's misery over Kes's abrupt ending of their relationship, Chakotay's endless fear of my persistence, and my own undying hate. I am still a part of Voyager. Perhaps next time I'll take you over, Be'lanna. Wouldn't that please you, Mister Paris? Three species added to your ledger in one bold stroke. You'll never be rid of me. Never."

Chakotay chose then to play his ace.

"No, we will be rid of you. Forever."

Seska was expiring quickly, but her grin only broadened.

"I'm a spirit of the dead, my love. You don't have the POWER to get rid of me. And if you somehow did, you'd lack the will to use it. Janeway's seen to that."

Chakotay threw down a single feather, replicated as he ran to join the others. His voice grew deadly serious.

"You are wrong on both counts, Seska Marlis of Bajor, whose true name is Illeana Ghemor of Cardassia, daughter of Legate Tekeny Ghemor, now also deceased. By the invocation of your true name, dead thing, I banish you from our ship for all times to come! This place is become our home, and you are not welcome here!"

Seska's face twisted in agony as her spirit left her new body, which crumbled at last to ash. For a moment, her spirit was actually visible. Tuvok shuddered as Lon Suder, also briefly visible, walked out of his body. Suder looked around.

"Well, it was nice seeing you all again. I don't have a secret name, or anything. So I'll just be moving on."

But now, a spirit burst out of Chakotay. It was an elderly Cardassian male. Seska, or Illeana, gasped.

"Father?"

The ghost of Legate Tekeny Ghemor looked out at his child's spirit.

"You are free of this place, Illeana. I have found you at last. Reject the path you have walked on, my daughter. Come dwell with me."

The lost soul spoke some fatal words.

"But Father--what of power?"

A portal opened behind her, and the Funnel reclaimed its own. Painfully, Tekeny saw his daughter reborn as the top aide to a Starfleet Admiral who was a chronic abuser of children. Her next death would erase her entirely.

"She was lost to me many years ago. Lon Suder--will you keep an old man company?"

Suder gulped.

"Sir--I'd like to. But I'm a murderer. And I've been told that I was never much of a son to begin with."

Ghemor touched his non-shoulder.

"You have earned a form of redemption. And I will judge the second part, myself."

Suder looked at a weary Tuvok, and the Vulcan smiled inwardly as both ghosts vanished. For Lon Suder now truly knew peace.

The Doctor ran about, getting the injured and unconscious up and around till he could get back to Sickbay. Penny Robinson was sobbing, and being held by her mother, who would later hear quite shocking news about her and Will. Janeway tried to digest it all, while Chakotay found that his final victory over Seska was a bittersweet one, yet again. John Robinson looked around.

"Has Don called from Sickbay, yet?"

* * *

As quietly as he knew how, Don West stalked the shuttlebay, phaser in hand. But as something blunt struck him across the back of the head, he knew he'd been found out.

"Reaaallly, Ma-jor. The idea that you could ever outsmart Doctor Zachary Smith. Sadly, your death, while it would delight me to no small end, would put legs on their inevitable pursuit. So I merely choose to place myself and my shuttle behind a Level-ten force field as I make my final preparations. Who knows? Perhaps I'll even seek out Mizzz Seska's Kazon. Keep them rolling along, as it were."

As Smith chuckled at his own horrible joke from behind the imagined safety of his force-field, Don West slowly got up, prepared to end five years of waiting to do what he felt he should have been allowed to do to begin with.

"Funniest thing, ya know Smith? Tom Paris found this historical reference about a man named Zachary Smith, from his universe. Seems he was a lot like you, working for everybody and everything, from Adam to Saddam. A terrorist's terrorist, a spy's spy."

Never looking at his nemesis, Smith kept on with his work.

"What izzz your pointless point, Major? I am a busy man."

Don shrugged.

"Well, that is what this Zachary Smith claimed when he was captured. But two centuries later, they dug up evidence that told the truth. He had never worked even semi-officially for anyone. He was a gadfly for bad guys, so to speak. A hanger-on to evil, and a lousy, stinking braggart!"

"Deww finish your jealous grunting, Major. Whoever I truly am, is it not also at long last obvious, even to you, that I am your fundamental superiohr?"

Don smiled broadly, and shook his head.

"Oh, I'm not trying to start in, Smith. I just wanted a sense of closure between us. I just wanted--"

West put his hand near a large, red, ominous button.

"---to clear the air."

Smith saw what the button did. He looked in stark terror at his mortal adversary.

"You--you wouldn't!"

Don slapped the button hard, a sneer on his face.

"My kid is going to have to ask just who Doctor Smith was!"

The bay doors opened, the outer force-fields not yet back on line. Smith began to be pulled back to oblivion, his bravado all spent. The cold and wind tore at his flesh.

"The Pain!!!!"

And Don smiled, because for once, he knew that Smith wasn't faking it. The saboteur  
fell ever back, striking his head hard as he went. Safe behind the field meant to keep him back, Don saw the bay doors suddenly close. A metal pincer had struck the button once more.  
Doctor Smith's comatose form was beamed directly to Sickbay. Don looked at B-9.

"Robot, why did you save him?"

The Robot's turret shook.

"Major West, it was not Doctor Smith that I was saving. Now go. Judy Robinson needs you."

Feeling taken aback that he had let Judy be alone while trying to kill another human being, Don indeed walked away from a scene that made him question a lot of things about himself. He liked very few of the answers he got.

* * *

In Sickbay, Neelix was still badly dazed. Harry and Penny were being treated for phaser burns. Tuvok actually consented to medication to aid his recovery of his usual Vulcan calm. Kes sat in meditation, afraid that she would again begin to discorporate if she dared to relax. Will was hurt but conscious, and very sore. Maureen and Kathryn were nearly exhausted. John and Chakotay had light exposure and oxygenation problems. The EMH kept rechecking his program to see if he was de-rezzing, and Judy sat back, amazed at both the fragility and the resilience of the life once again inside of her. Yet when Don finally arrived, he saw almost all of them concentrating not on themselves--but on one who was soon to die, if this was an apt term.

"Ahhh--Ma-Mayhajor West. Your chiiiild is well. She is quiiiite welll. I'm glad I was--was --was avble to helpmeet."

The Winchester hologram, which Don still thought had been based on a fictional, and not a real person, was sitting dejectedly in a corner, slowly decompiling. It was also stammering.

"It was alll so close. We alhmost l-host the child. A colloeaghue of mine once had a breakdown, watching a child die. I never truly understood his tor-homent, till just now. I'm terribly sorry, everyone. I shan't bee with you, much longer. Computer--delete backup EMH. Ladies. Ge-hentleme--"

The crying man faded forever from sight, and his tears became the tears of so many there. Captain Janeway looked at her fully restored EMH Mark One.

"Doctor--what just happened?"

The EMH was not beyond feeling pain at what had occurred.

"He was one of my engrams that I had decided to delete. I hardly need 20th Century thoracic surgery skills, after all. Plus, he was contributing to my aloofness. But then I found his love of music, and made it mine. I tinkered around a bit with his very basic program, and made an ad-hoc backup. I never intended to really use him, till Seska and Smith tried to kill me, as it were. Well, since they had attacked my other masses of engrams, I deflected their attack to one who was already an individual engram, minus an external deletion protocol. I hid in Robot till I rebooted, and the rest you know. I'm sorry, Captain. It was all done so quickly, there was no time to make you all aware of what had transpired."

Janeway looked at where the other EMH had once been.

"He didn't have emotion limiters, did he?"

The Doctor nodded, grimly.

"Some call it Rayna Kapec Syndrome, some call it Lal's Complaint. But there is a valid reason why cybernetically-dependent beings aren't just given full emotions from day one. Almost losing Miss Robinson's child was too much for him to take."

Janeway smiled.

"Well, it's good to have you back, Doctor. But your backup served with distinction--and a one hell of a lot of class!"

The Captain then hit her commbadge.

"Mister Paris? How stands the Bridge?"

Tom answered.

"We're talking four days, minimum, Captain. It's a mess."

Torres had given her similar word on the ship overall. Kathryn knew that there were about a billion other issues to be settled. But they would not be settled, then and there.

"For the next week, we will get ourselves and this ship back together. Then, we will throw a real party to celebrate our victory and to welcome our newest crew members."

Chakotay walked out of Sickbay, intending to hit his own bed for however much time he could. A crewman stopped him, the odd one he'd earlier queried about Seska.

"Commander--you're not going to believe this--but I think during the recent chaos, Voyager became lost in the Delta Quadrant!"

Chakotay began to chuckle, and just walked off laughing. The man yelled after him.

"Hey, I have scans! I can prove this! The crew deserves to know the truth!"

Some things never change, after all. Until that is, they change forever.


	11. Chapter Ten Best Choices

**Chapter Ten - Best Choices**

While the ship had not been badly damaged, there was still the matter of the interrupted systems check, prior to entering what was widely presumed to be the very heart of Borg space. Captain Janeway, in fact, had openly wondered why they hadn't encountered anything remotely Borg, this close in. The answer would forever change the journey of the USS Voyager. But this was yet to come.

Certain matters were dispensed with, rather quickly.

"So, to you two, I offer my most heartfelt apologies. I betrayed your secret on two occasions. I like to think that I'm more than just the sum of my programming. Occasions like these tend to slap me back to reality, in rather a hard way."

Will and Penny, whose wounds had been fully treated the first day, nodded at the EMH.

"Tom explained to Will and me, Doctor, how your subroutines got messed up by Seska's presence. Kind of like we got messed up by our mistake. Without realizing it, we let it make us think we hated each other--when the exact opposite was the problem."

Will shrugged.

"There's no hard feelings. Captain Janeway and Judy kept our secret. But now we have to decide how to tell our folks. No more secrets, though. That was Doctor Smith's way of doing things."

Since the fate of the comatose Smith was still up in the air, the EMH was glad to have someone else say his name.

"My advice is to tell them. If any brother and sister ever had a good excuse for losing perspective, it's you two. Plus, here on Voyager--why, you have so many other potential partners, it's a sure bet that your mistake won't be repeated. Please--don't repeat it. I mean that. My counseling subroutines just aren't up to the task."

There were mild chuckles--just not from the Doctor. He got up as they left, to check on the formerly possessed crewmembers.

Harry Kim, on the verge of being released, lay back with a very frustrated look on his face. Being taken over by Jonas was obviously not going to aid him in his ongoing battle for self-esteem. A glare from Penny Robinson hadn't helped, either.

Despite massive and multiple assurances that she was just fine, Kes still spent every waking moment in meditation. The price she had paid for saving her friends, and indeed her universe, was going to haunt her in very short order. Other things would haunt her even sooner.

Tuvok had been working on a project, while in Sickbay. A compromise when dealing with the workaholic Vulcan was always a wise move. Linked by PADD to Astrometrics, he was studying the universe the Robinsons had come from. Janeway had quietly instructed him to nail down its exact vibrational frequency in its relative time period, with the hope that the Space Family could one day return to their native realm, should Voyager finally reach the safe haven of the Alpha Quadrant.

"Mister Kim? Could I prevail upon you to have a look at these readings?"

Literally having nothing better to do, Harry walked over to the Security Chief's bio-bed.

"What readings, sir?"

Tuvok pointed.

"These short-spurt pulses. They appear artificial in nature."

Harry did a quick check, finding largely what he expected.

"They are. They're likely video broadcasts, possibly from the Earth native to the Robinsons' universe. They bounced all over the galaxy, some said. Heh. Maybe it's some of Kirk and Picard's old adventures."

As Kim lay back down, Tuvok felt an unease, and ordered the computer to decipher these possible broadcast signals. It would prove a pivotal choice.

Back in what was soon to be their assigned cabin, Judy Robinson and Don West were having the fight of their lives.

"Judy, honey--I had to stop him."

Judy shook her head.

"At that point, Don, he was no threat to anyone except himself. You should have been there with me. I nearly died. So did our baby. Poor Doctor Winchester fell apart, when at first the reattachment didn't take."

Don was apologetic, but also couldn't let part of what she said go unchallenged.

"No threat? Judy, this is Zachary Smith we're talking about. Be it an invasion force in three months, or an ambush on an away mission in six, he would have been back, more vicious than ever. I mean, he shot Penny for no reason!"

Judy sat down, and again shook her head.

"What he did, I'm well aware of. But he's irrelevant, Don. Completely and wholly irrelevant. That Doctor Smith is a villain and a liar isn't even worth disputing. We're talking about you. Future husband and father, off playing space cowboy instead of tending to home and hearth. How am I supposed to look at that?"

Don was hard-pressed, both by her point and by his own pride. For her, though, he managed not to be displaced by either.

"I did the right thing, Judy. I did it for the wrong reason, and at the wrong time. But this cowboy saw the most dangerous badman he knew getting away. God help me, but that triggered something. I was thinking of you, and about us. Not wisely, or well, but I was. I saw the baby, in Smith's arms, at gunpoint. Not today, or tomorrow, but maybe years from now. Please forgive me. But also please don't tell me why I did what I did. And don't tell me I didn't want to be by your side. Cause' that's just not true."

She stopped. Judy saw her strong man, scared and not a little scarred by it all, same as everyone else was. She put her head on his shoulder.

"I'm scared. Of this baby. Of being married. Of losing you, if you were my husband."

It hadn't been the loudest argument of their young lives together. But it had been the most telling.

In an access corridor near Engineering, Be'lanna Torres stared dumbfounded at Tom Paris. His question was, to her, quite beyond belief.

"Would you mind too terribly much repeating that?"

Paris felt a bit put off, and not without cause.

"It was a simple question."

"It was a massively unfair, very dishonest question. I'm surprised at you, Tom. Normally, you don't go that cheap."

Paris turned around, breathed in, and only when he thought he had regained himself did he accede to Torres' demand.

"Repeating my question: From what you've seen of me--from how you know me--do you think that what happened between me and my sister has affected my life, overall?"

Be'lanna nodded rather emphatically.

"Yes, without a doubt. Next question?"

Tom narrowed his gaze.

"Hunh? You just answered the most important question I ever asked you in two seconds flat. How about some consideration, here?"

In some respects, Be'lanna had been waiting for this moment since she first learned of Tom's secret.

"Tom, there's nothing to consider. De Nada. Zip. Zilch. You suffered the very worst family trauma possible, leavened only by a genuine affection and no use of force. Of course you've been affected! You were affected by Caldik Prime. By your cousin Nick getting away with murder, practically. By botching your first and only Maquis mission. By being trusted by no one here. By earning the trust of every single crewmember. By arguing with Neelix over Kes. By bonding with Neelix. When those two poor kids came on board, fearing for their souls and their sanity over a simple kiss, you were affected, and how dare you pretend like it's possible that you weren't affected!"

Her logic and common sense almost had Paris, but pride of place demanded he try another tack.

"What about you? What were you affected by?"

Torres shrugged.

"Me? I'm affected by everything. You want claims of invulnerability, talk to my mother's family."

Smiling lightly, Paris took her hand.

"You really don't look that much like Sadie. You're one hell of a lot stronger, and you'd never claim that you couldn't do without me. Promise me something?"

"Depends on what I'm promising."

He let her hand go, and looked her in the eye.

"Whatever does or doesn't happen between us, if the day should come that we're home, and I decide to see my sister again, to talk things out..."

She stopped him.

"I'll be right there by your side, Starfleet. Come what may. With a few choice words for my dopple."

They got back to work, with nothing but a hypothetical future confrontation decided. But in a warp-capable ship, wheels were turning, and not merely in Tom's holo-garage.

Back in her rebuilt quarters at long last, Kes began trying to wean herself off of the constant meditation she'd engaged in since her near-discorporation. She deliberately shifted to other, harsher subjects in her nervous mind. If she could not survive life outside of a meditative state, she was done for, anyway.

Dead silence from Will Robinson combined with an earful from his angry parents told Kes that her lack of patience had sorely cost her on all fronts, in that case. Instead of being an eager young man's first time, she would likely be remembered as a *bimbo*-one of Tom's words, never applied to her-who offered only criticism and no guidance.

It was one of the reasons Occampans didn't really mate with outsiders. By alien standards, they were a greatly impatient species. But when a woman at five--which was one third of Will Robinson's age, would soon be facing the final arc towards death, grabbing the experience truly meant something. Still, with the Robinsons now staying on board, Will's glare might have to be addressed. But at least the catastrophe Tom foresaw between the younger Robinson children would definitely be averted.

Before she could start her next set of thoughts, their very embodiment rang her door chime. After her permission was given, the door opened.

"Please--please don't hate me."

She could have spoken to Neelix about the hate his soul had harbored for her, providing an in for the vicious Seska. Kes almost wanted to say that after the harassment campaign a being using his body had waged against her, she might have trouble even looking at him again. But she was impatient, and so skipped to the part she knew she would arrive at, in any event.

"Everything that I have, everything that I now am, and everything I might ever do or become, I owe to you. That fact creates more than a debt, more than mere affection, and infinitely more than any bad spell can ever hope to undo."

In her heart, she felt free, and she felt this freedom reflected in his heart, as well. He left, not confused or angry, but joyful, as she had known him. He said some fateful words, not their last, but perhaps their best.

"I know that I'm a clown. But you've treated me like a man, and I'll always love you for it."

There were tears after he was gone. The door chime rang again. It was Harry Kim.

"I--just thought that maybe you and I could talk to Will and Penny--together."

Kes smiled. No, that was *not* what she and Harry were going to do together. After all, why should her future alter-timeline daughter have all the fun?

Put bluntly, Harry Kim then had the only real sex he had during Voyager's entire journey that did not end in some manner of disaster.

In her ready room, the Captain heard a startling theory from her First Officer.

"What do you mean, they weren't ghosts?"

Chakotay pointed to some on-screen sensor readings, taken once the holodeck had been recovered from the saboteurs.

"These images are of Seska, Neelix, Harry, Kes, and Tuvok. Heavy, heavy Chroniton displacement."

"From the portals, I'd assume."

Chakotay shook his head.

"Too localized. It took me a while to discern what might have been going on. In short, our ghosts were probably the people themselves, taken through time, just before physical death claimed them. When they had served their purpose, the Pagh Wraiths, being non-linear as the Prophets are, turned their servants back to their fates."

Janeway rubbed her head.

"I almost like the ghost explanation better. By the way--what exactly makes the Pagh Wraiths evil and the Prophets good?"

"Well, to hear the Bajorans I've known tell it, the Pagh Wraiths don't like to share reality with we lesser beings. The Prophets are more co-existence oriented."

Kathryn felt a bit confused.

"Kind of a utilitarian view of faith, for a Bajoran."

Chakotay raised an open palm.

"No, that was just my take on what they said to me. I mean, there's any number of ways to view that sort of statement."

The Captain got up to help plan the party to welcome the Robinsons to their crew.

"I guess there's more than one way to skin a spirit!"

In the Sickbay that was now clear except for the comatose Smith, The EMH received a welcome visitor.

"Robot! I'm glad to see you about. I have some fascinating theories on the original purpose of your core holo-matrix."

The mechanoid shook its torso.

"That, Doctor, will have to wait for later. I am here solely to ascertain your opinions on the long-term health of Doctor Smith."

Knowing that this was more threat assessment than true concern, the EMH gave what he thought would be grim but welcome news.

"Zachary Smith is dying."

Robot gave a non-response response.

"Indeed."

The EMH held up a clear container. Floating in its viscous liquid was what looked like a child's marble, made all of flesh.

"This tumor was the result of a carefully and deliberately induced trauma. It may have been created by means of needles and toxins, pumped directly into the brain. It was the source of Doctor Smith's switchable personalities. But what his 'friends' that gave him this never told him was the price involved. You see, whether benign or otherwise, tumors are not stable things, and they tend to grow and/or build up fluid materials around them. I beamed it out, of course. But the damage is done. He has five years, at most. In cryo-stasis, he'll at least keep from degenerating further."

Robot rolled over, and looked at Doctor Smith, lying in temporary bio-stasis.

"You can do nothing for him?"

The EMH placed a hand on Robot's upper front torso plate.

"No. Where that tumor came from is still one of the least understood areas of the brain. Right now, the separate engrams of the clownish Doctor Smith and the saboteur are re-merging, willy-nilly. Imagine a storm that's been building for years. That, and not the tumor itself, is the untreatable part."

Robot extended his arm, and rested his pincer on Smith's chest.

"He was a creature of wish machines, plant beings, evolving androids, aliens of varied intent, weapons that should never have been picked up, and of doors never meant to be opened. I do not think that I can bring myself to miss him, Doctor. But I will miss those times."

As Robot left Sickbay, his words gave something very like a chill to a hologram that rarely felt such things. For they felt as prophetic and pandemic as they were to prove, for two different crews.

The next morning, as the welcome celebration approached, John and Maureen Robinson sat in their cabin, thinking over and over again about a visit their younger children had paid them, late the previous night. Will's opening words seemed likely to stay with them forever.

"Mom--Dad--we betrayed you."

After a seeming eternity that felt more like eternity than seeming, John spoke.

"Darling, are we good parents?"

Maureen seemed offended by the question, but chose to merely answer it, instead of challenging it.

"Yes. John, this didn't happen because of a lack of direction or discipline or love or any one thing or group of things that parents are able to provide."

There was desperation in her man's eyes. They weren't Vulcans, but this meant that she too felt that exact same desperation.

"Okay. Then are Will and Penny good kids?"

Now, Maureen did challenge him.

"No, John. They're evil and vile, vain and selfish little hell spawn who've brought us nothing but misery. I saw this coming a MILE AWAY!!"

John clutched at his head.

"I had that coming, I know. But how do we handle this? This isn't alien possession, or one of Smith's schemes. This is just--our lives. How do we know that this is the only time that this has occurred? My God. How do we even know for sure how far this has gone?"

Maureen looked down at the floor.

"We know. I asked the Doctor about Penny. His scans were complete enough to tell that she's still a..she's still. On all fronts, so to speak. John, I felt like a character out of Orwell, asking such things."

John shrugged.

"What choice do we have, if the technology's available to check on such things? My worry is, how do we keep Will under control?"

Maureen looked back at him.

"You mean, how do we keep Will and Penny under control, don't you?"

John now looked puzzled.

"Of course not. We'll just teach her anew how to say no, and remind her why it has to be said, especially in this case. Will's a boy, though. Male hormones are easy negaters of common sense and decency."

Maureen let his statement sit for a full minute before answering it with both barrels.

"That, John Robinson, is the single most ignorant statement I've ever heard you make!"

He turned on his heels, and looked dumbfounded that she should challenge him so very often on something so painful.

"Ignorant? How dare you call me ignorant? I am struggling with a family nightmare of unimaginable proportions. All I pointed out was a commonly known fact of biology, and you move to tear my throat out!"

Maureen stood up from the bed, and tried to regain her calm. But her anchor was adrift, as well, and he showed no signs of finding purchase in the mud below them.

"John, you pointed out a common fallacy. One I can't believe that you, as a scientist, subscribe to. Maybe teenage boys and men are *on* 24 hours a day, so to speak. But maybe that means you also know how to deal with all that. For girls and women, the only real difference is, that when the feelings strike, they don't let you go. Or maybe that statement was just as ignorant. But to argue that Penny is a sexual tabula rasa till tapped on the shoulder by an interested male is ridiculous. I was her age. I wasn't interested in sex because all the boys around me were rich, intelligent, athletic scholars with a strong poetic license. I was just plain interested. Darling, women are. It doesn't come out the same way, but we are. And it drives us just as insane."

John was more than a bit thrown off, and so sat back down on the bed.

"I was taught growing up that sex was something men tricked women into, and that marriage was the payback trick. I thought sure I'd left all that behind. Darling, I'm not PC. Those thoughts just never entered me."

She sat beside him, an arm around the man she hadn't meant to educate in quite that manner.

"Who wants you to be PC? You know, I remember before PC came in vogue, certain Bunker-ish types were spouting a lot of hate talk, quite casually and publicly. PC, for all its flaws, resulted from what those other loudmouths called 'honesty'. Well, there's honesty that helps, and there's honesty that's just rudeness with a new label. Then there's honesty that hurts, even when it's all true and forthright. That, John Robinson, is what we're up against."

He closed his eyes, and tried to imagine that his children had only come by last night to say good night. He failed.

"Should they have told us? Would we be better off not knowing, and let this one incident pass into dust?"

Maureen Robinson strained for an answer.

"No. We raised them too well to keep something like that forever. And if they learned anything from Doctor Smith's poor example, it's the price of lying. John, tell me there was remorse in their eyes."

He didn't need to think about that.

"There was. Remorse like I've never seen it before. Not up close, anyway."

Feeling her way towards a radical solution, Maureen kept asking questions.

"And did they try to justify that kiss, or explain it away?"

With his anchor now a little more firmly dug in, John thought he too saw the light.

"No. They told us of the how and when. They didn't even attempt the why. I don't think even they know. Maureen--do they know? That they're not related by blood? That could explain this."

This was a thought she had brushed across before.

"If they were to find out, outside of us telling them, they'd demand to know it all, and they would not have been so repentant. I know the ways in which they get angry. Remember when we gave Will all that homework?"

He did.

"Yeah. After that creature made us all vanish, he was still upset that we felt that schooling was so important. So he completed all remaining seven grades within one year, including triple-checking his own work! Took us months to figure out he did it to get back at us. Penny's even subtler about it, if that's possible. You're right, when they're really angry--it always starts with a show. A bang, not a whimper."

Maureen now moved towards her possible solution.

"They kept their secret, and we've kept secrets from them. All of us afraid of the others' reactions. Well, given this kiss, I'm no more inclined to tell them they're not related by birth. Separating them is out, if that would even work. Spanking I always kept in reserve for them punching each other, and that doesn't apply here. I almost wish it did."

She smiled, and then laughed, in spite of the situation.

"Penny--don't touch your little brother!"

So sorely in need of any laughter that he felt sick inside, John gave up and joined in.

"Will, get off your sister!"

But the smiles and the laughs quickly faded. Reality was more sobering in some instances than others. John looked into his wife's eyes.

"What the hell do we do?"

Maureen breathed in. This was going to go down hard.

"We are dealing with two good kids in a situation that will now never be repeated, who told us when they didn't have to. They are profoundly remorseful and regretful of their actions. We both knew on some level that their interest in the other sex would be a problem, eventually. They know what they did is wrong, and why it is wrong, and have promised that it will never happen again. They endured several months of lonely pain, thinking that they hated each other. In my parents' day, the very oddest and most untoward circumstances demanded the one solution that today's society overlooks, for the stigmas attached to it by overuse."

John's head turned so quickly, his neck muscles actually popped, slightly.

"You're not suggesting that we do that, are you? Could that work?"

Maureen nodded, and so they called for their children. Looking nervous but relieved at the knowledge it was soon to be over, Will and Penny entered. From this day's events, they would learn that their parents were still people, and people make mistakes. Sometimes, even brilliant people make the biggest mistakes of all. In the long run, this one was to prove disastrous for the Robinson family.

Perhaps in a nod to the less strident forms of PC, John stood by Penny, and Maureen by Will. Since he was both father and CO, Maureen let John say what she had thought of.  
His voice, she hoped, would reassure her as well.

"Three little words: It Never Happened. We won't talk of it, speculate on the whys and wherefores, or anything like that. You made a mistake, but people make mistakes. No punishment is going to task you any harder than you have yourselves. No lecture could make you any more aware. It won't happen again, because it never happened to begin with. Okay?"

There was a family hug, and then departure. Once drowning in what to do in the face of the unthinkable, John and Maureen were together in bed within five minutes. A stunned, speechless Will and Penny each made for the holodecks that had been allotted for them, earlier by Tom and Be'lanna. Tied up in repairs, the crew had been too busy to use their virtual getaways. Not long before the party, they emerged, at roughly the same time. They obeyed their parents' wishes, as much as they could.

"So what happened?"

Will still had a best friend, so he told her rather bluntly.

"Same scenario. But I was with almost all of them, this time. I may have gone overboard on their stats. Part of me wanted to get even for last time's screw-up. But they did--what I said to do. They were cute, and pretty. What about you?"

Penny shook her head.

"He was everything I could have wanted. The computer knew my potential preferences, and so customized him quicker than I could blink. I had my own stat and performance overages, I guess. Hard to say."

She began to cry.

"Impossible to say. Because he wasn't real. He was lines of force, and light, and motion, and I don't do paintings!"

Will closed his eyes, and spoke in agreement.

"I might as well have been alone in my room. All I feel is a little less tense. Penny, I had them line up by the side of the pool for inspection! Tell me when that's gonna happen with any real girls?"

She tried to find a single ray of hope for them both.

"We're part of Voyager now. There's other people. Some near to our age. You'll have your inspection line, Will."

"And you'll have a guy who wants to make a painting of you."

She thought back.

"Didn't that already happen to us, back on that shopping-mall planet?"

Their young lives, odd and rough, would find only a geometric progression of the same. But together they would endure, as they had from the beginning.

* * *

The party came, and it was grand, as these things go. Accumulated debris from the ship, The Jupiter 2, and the shuttles had been carefully recycled by the recalibrated replicators. Used for utensils and plates, this freed up the 'true' replicator ration limits for food and drink. With the old ghosts, or whatever they were, put to rest, and with a new crew joining theirs, Captain Kathryn Janeway felt she had the right to splurge. Wounds physical and otherwise were healing right before her eyes. Sensors had been placed on widest possible scan, and non-crew decks not in use were sealed off or otherwise encoded against easy sabotage. And though something would indeed mar the festivities, it would not be for a lack of preparedness.

At Janeway's urging, Chakotay walked over to see Tom Paris.

"Tom, I am sorry. I normally treat secrets, especially personal ones, as just that. I suppose I could explain it somehow. But I have to wonder if any of that would help."

Paris nodded.

"It wouldn't. But sometimes, Commander, I forget how people react to my..to that aspect of my past. I forget how I reacted, the morning after. Maybe your reaction tells me more than ever that I did the right thing in telling my father. OCC may happen. But it should never be regarded as anything but a family disaster."

To which Chakotay could only reply, "Amen."

Be'lanna tried and failed to referee a deep, grim argument between Don and Judy.

"Charlotte is a wonderful name, Major!"

"The answer is still No, Doctor!"

"But I want to name her after the Doctor who saved me from Smith!"

"But I will not have my daughter named after a MASH character who was not created by Hooker, Altman or Gelbart!"

Torres snuck in.

"How about another name derivative? Like say--Carla?"

Judy and her man both looked at the Engineer in disgust.

"A 'Cheers' character?"

Torres walked off, and stuck by Paris, whose pop-culture references she at least occasionally understood.

Trying to make peace with the two they'd literally kicked out of bed, Harry Kim and Kes heard a tale beyond belief.

"...so Dad says, there's enough water for a week, if we conserve. But theeennnn..."

Penny picked up.

"We hear bad operatic singing. And the sounds of running water."

Kes tried.

"Smith had found a waterfall?"

Harry tried.

"Smith had a recording of a waterfall?"

Will shook his head, five years' distance giving him the ability to smile about the then-grim situation.

"Nope. He was taking a long, hot shower. Used up every last drop."

Harry looked stunned. Kes rolled her eyes, then looked at Penny.

"After all that, you chose to strangle Seska?"

Harry added in.

"And he was going to try and join up with the Kazon?"

In the distance, a call was heard.

*Tuvok To Captain*

Departing for what she intended to be a brief period, Janeway left for the Bridge. Yet not long after, another call was heard.

*Janeway to Chakotay*

His stomach full and his apologies to Paris given, Chakotay left as well. Maureen and John Robinson endured a sing-along from the remaining Voyager crew.

"And Here's To You, Mrs. Robinson; Jesus Loves You More Than You Will Know; Wo-Wo-Wo; God Bless You Please, Mrs. Robinson; Heaven Holds A Place For Those Who Pray--hey-hey-hey;"

"John?"

"Yes, dear?"

"Did you put them up to this?"

"No, of course not. I know how you hate this song."

"Why does everyone assume that we've never heard it before?"

Finally, the amateurs stepped aside, and former Broadway star Judy stepped in. Her angelic voice sang the song of another angel, or more precisely, a Carpenter.

"We've Only Just Begun; To Live; White Lace And Promises; A Kiss For Luck And We're On Our Way; And Yet We've Just Begun; Sharing Horizons That Are New To Us; Watching The Signs Along The Way..."

*Robinsons To Bridge. Sorry, people. But this is urgent.*

Equally annoyed and intrigued, the Space Family, with Kim, Torres and Paris in tow, went to join their new Captain. The Robot rolled out to the middle of the room.

"Is anyone familiar with 'The Beer Barrel Polka'?"

When Neelix and The Doctor joined in, many found an excuse to leave.

On the Bridge, the images taken from the transmissions of the Robinsons' native Earth played once more. They were heartbreakers

"The fifth anniversary of the Jupiter 2's loss had former NASA chief Cochrane pleading with Congress to restore the discredited space agency to life.."

"President Putin used this occasion to remind Russians of MIR's fiery crash and how even the Americans, with fewer infrastructure problems, have sensibly turned their funds away from pointless space exploration, after the disaster that befell Jupiter 2 and its brave family..."

"....yet the EU Communications Chief stated again that it was enough of a bother keeping broadcast satellites in orbit. She used the tragic example of the highly-touted colonial ship, The Jupiter 2, and its family of geniuses."

Sometimes, they were direct. Sometimes, they merely hinted at it. Sometimes--it was even a reference in a situation comedy or talk show. But for all regions of the world, the broadcasts' message became brutally clear, about the true cost of losing the Jupiter 2. Judy pointed at the screen, her finger shaking.

"Earth has cancelled all its space programs--because of us!"

John Robinson stared at the same screen, but disputed his daughter's assessment.

"No, honey. Not because of us. We were just the excuse. Persuading the people of Earth that space exploration and travel, let alone colonization, were worthwhile goals was always a close fight. I pity them, back home. They've turned inward yet again. Maybe for the final time."

Don West quickly showed that he was no more sympathetic towards these reports than he was towards Zachary Smith.

"It's the call-in culture. A few narrow yahoos on the radio and TV state an opinion, and everybody else nods along, just so they won't look stupid. They probably told everyone how much money got wasted on our failed project. Remember? When Will got sent back by accident, those punks joked that we were all just skeletons, floating in space! I wash my hands of them. It's their own graves they're digging, within a few hundred years."

Maureen just sadly shook her head as she spoke.

"But the Earth was our home. Its people, flawed and difficult though they are, are still the people we began this mission for. Can we do nothing for them?"

Judy had sat down, still a bit overwhelmed by this revelation.

"I don't see what we could do. Even if we went back, we'd still be lost in our own Delta Quadrant. Without any miracles, even Voyager is seventy years out, and the Jupiter 2 doesn't have warp drive."

John raised an opened palm, and gave what he thought to be the final answer.

"We can't help them, except to help Voyager get back to their Earth and its environs as quickly as possible. From there, we stand a much better chance of ever seeing our world again. Perhaps we'll even be able to reach back to the time period we emerged from, and help our Earth before it's too late. But we didn't force them to give up the best dream of humankind. They made their choice, based on what they thought was best for them. We have to do the same, if for no other reason than we simply have no way back."

Penny saw her little brother staring at the screen. His look was one she knew well, that of an idea forming. She also knew his ideas well enough to understand that they could easily turn the tide. But he wasn't speaking out, and she could only guess why.

Will saw her, and remembered the mistake they had made. A mistake whose repetition life on Voyager seemed to make a dim possibility. A mistake that life on the cramped spaces and through the long nights of the Jupiter 2 seemed to make a grim likelihood. But he shut that part of his brain off, as she had already. He was Will Robinson, boy genius, and if he had a solution, he was bound by several ideals to at least offer it up.

"Sir, I think you're wrong. We can go back. Those video signals are too recent, relative to our time. They can't be originating from the Delta Quadrant."

Until now, the Voyager crew had remained silent, out of respect for the shock they had delivered to the Robinsons. But Tom Paris felt obliged to correct Will.

"Will, I checked those scans every way there was to check them. So did Tuvok and Harry. One of us could have gotten it wrong, but not all three of us. The Jupiter 2 emerged from the equivalent to the Delta Quadrant in your universe."

Will actually appreciated Paris' approach, which was to question but not dismiss his theory. Too often aboard the Jupiter 2, he had seen his parents overlook his words because of some familial situation. The Voyager crew might end up being like family to them, if they indeed stayed. But not actually being blood relations would provide much needed breathing space.

"I'm not saying that isn't where you found us, Tom. But those television signals are only months old, by our local time. They just can't have gone out that far, that fast."

Tom's scans were not faulty. Yet neither was Will's science. After a moment, Penny felt she had developed a scenario that might allow for both.

"Rifts are unstable by definition. Even this one will close up in a few months. Maybe sooner. So who's to say that the one rift isn't made from several different anomalies?"

Captain Janeway began to look over the scans, although she would soon turn them back to those for whom such studies were both duty and prerogative.

"We've encountered so many anomalies out here, I'm beginning to think that they're normalities. Riding through regular or warp space is the oddity. Ok, people. I think we may just have seen the birth of a notion. A notion that might allow the Jupiter 2 the option of returning to its Alpha Quadrant--"

She smiled.

"--And us the option of returning to ours."

Each Robinson left the Bridge in turn. If anyone looked more or less taken aback by this possibility, they did not show it at this time. But Major West stayed, for just a moment, and looked at the helm and navigation console, his lip quivering just a bit. His shot at operating that console, and of piloting the Voyager, now seemed a bit more remote.

"Damn."

Hearing this and perhaps understanding to an extent, Captain Janeway offered up an observation.

"I wouldn't worry just yet, Major. So far, these 'miracle return' junctures we've found have had all the reliability and usability of the holodeck in an ion storm."

Looking up from the first of a series of new scans, Paris offered up some further sarcasm.

"Or really, in any given situation."

Sensing in the chuckles and bemusement an in-joke he was not to be a party to, Don entered the turbolift. He did wonder anew why the people of this world had so closely modeled their space exploration arm after a fictional show more than three hundred years old. Yes, he'd heard the references to Vulcans and Klingons, and seen the physical differences. Then he remembered just how zealous some of the Trek fans in his own world had been.

"Must be like a religion, here."

Alternate timelines and universes, West could accept easily enough. But places where fiction was reality? He was still some years off from that.

Catching up with the only real family he'd ever called his, West got there just in time to hear John make a momentous announcement.

"There'll be no playing around this time. No hurt feelings, and no ego. Everybody except Doctor Smith gets a vote. If Kathryn and Chakotay can actually get us back to our universe and the part of our space we belong in, do we want to leave Voyager? There's still a lot of risk involved in our journey, even as it stood before we came here. I have mixed feelings about our Earth's choice to end its space programs. Aboard Voyager, the safety, well-being and comfort of this family has guarantees we never dreamed of. Yet if we reach Alpha Centauri in our universe, we can offer humanity back the stars it spurned, and thought were beyond its reach. I'm sorry to say that I find both arguments equally compelling. Kids--if you felt excluded before, then don't feel it now. Because all our voices need to be heard, whatever choice we ultimately make. Let nothing go unsaid. And I do mean nothing."

The discussion began on a surprisingly self-centered note. Judy had another point to make though, and this seemed the best way to go about it.

"Here, I can dry my hair. I can get it cut. I can dye it like an anime character's, and generally not have to worry about it. Now, magnify that petty concern by all the comfort it alone brings about. Magnify those by the clarity and presence of mind simple comforts do tend to bring about. Magnify all that by the grief I wouldn't spread around when annoyed--and I do spread it around. Don. Penny. Will. The baby. You've all felt it, and you didn't have parental authority to shake me back to reality. Give us all the means to at last stand down between crises. I for one can't guarantee that news of our survival, or even our success in reaching Alpha Centauri will have one iota of effect on people's opinions, back home. The space program has never been a priority to them. So we need to look out for our priorities."

Will actually raised his hand, perhaps fearful that an accusation of rudeness could sidetrack this vital debate.

"If I'm in a bad mood aboard the Jupiter 2, I can't really show it. There's too much to do when a planetfall or crisis is imminent, and nothing to do when we're just traveling. I can't let either situation be thrown off just because I didn't like Penny's joke about me, or because Don cut me off at dinner. Everybody's congratulated me and Penny on how we've stopped fighting. Well, we'd like to fight. Argue like we used to. But we can't. None of us can. We all live and work within twenty feet of one another. On Voyager, we'll have room. Distance. So if I raise my voice when I don't like something Dad or Mom says, it's bad--but it wouldn't be a disaster in the making."

Don West was next.

"Somebody once said that hell is other people. Well, much as I love everybody here, hell is you people. And it's me, too. There are over one hundred crew on Voyager. I can talk to Tom about piloting. I can ask Chakotay about his people's beliefs. I can even go back and ask John about his fishing stories, when that gets old. We need a bigger circle, period."

Maureen surprised herself.

"I never thought I'd use the holodeck. But just last night, I programmed it to perform the play 'Jesus Christ, Superstar'. I actually got to hear 'Day By Day'--while onstage. Entertainment may not be a very moral reason for choosing this life. But I swear that I felt lighter, afterwards. I never thought that just having something to do would change my outlook so dramatically."

Penny felt she had something to add.

"We will, as part of this ship, see things we could never have dreamed of back home. Flying within range of supernovas. Seeing the Magellanic Cloud in detail. Catching up to Halley's Comet before it ever reaches Earth. Seeing worlds and peoples before their Genesis and after their Apocalypse. The stars, all close enough to see individually. Maybe even one day seeing an Alpha Centauri that's been colonized for centuries!"

On some level, John knew that his family was expecting him to play devil's advocate. He did not fail them.

"There is no doubt in my mind but that we would all be a lot better off and a lot more comfortable if we stayed here on Voyager. It seems like the embodiment of the ideals of the golden age of science fiction. That optimistic era that said 'we made it'. Well, for that time to happen, someone has to do the heavy lifting. Make the sacrifices. The people of Earth broke faith with us. We can't let them do that unchallenged."

The vote was put off, till the verdict came from the Voyager senior staff on getting back through the portal. But after John's words, all knew what their vote would be.

When a few hours had passed, they were called back to The Bridge. Captain Janeway had mixed news for the two crews.

"The good news is--we can send you back where you belong. Voyager can in a sense, open and widen that portion of the portal leading back to your Alpha Quadrant. We can possibly even place you within very rough striking distance of Alpha Centauri. But once we do that, the portal's stability will come to a screeching halt. In short, it will be of no use to us."

Maureen looked at her man, and then her family, and spoke.

"Then I guess we're headed back to your Earth, Kathryn. Because we won't let you waste this chance on us."

John agreed.

"Besides, we'll have access to even better technology, once we get there. We might still find our way home."

Chakotay pointed at the main viewer, which displayed the various scans in an overlay.

"John, trust me. Our charity is not so great that we would just give up on a real chance to get home. But Voyager has the technology and infrastructure to widen this portal for you. Jupiter 2 simply cannot return the favor. Nor can we ourselves go through before it collapses on either side. Once propped open--the door will close forever once the stop is pulled."

Will walked up, nearer to the screen.

"But its remained open all month. I don't think its configuration has changed in all that time."

Tom saw the nervousness in his young friend. Perhaps he even sensed his fear of the unspoken situation they shared.

"Problem is, pal, that these portals redefine temperamental. Its remained stable, simply put, because nothing destabilized it. This action is gonna do just that."

Harry looked at Penny, and perhaps his words now had a subtext of apology for his past impatience.

"We here on Voyager have the luxury of waiting. I know I have to get used to it. It can drive you crazy, make you wonder why you even tried. But we have the means of helping you. If it means we have to wait a while longer, well then, most attempts we make on our own behalf go nowhere. Maybe doing something good for someone else will even fool the fates long enough for this to work."

Tuvok raised a point.

"Captain, the Jupiter 2 is not in optimal condition. May I suggest undoing some of its more obvious damage, before the Robinsons leave our company?"

Janeway smiled.

"Far too conservative a plan, Mister Tuvok. In fact, with our guests' permission, we are going to take the next week and give the Jupiter 2 the old once-over. Upgrades, replacement parts--the works."

John shook his head.

"Kathryn, you've spoken of a temporal Prime Directive. I'm fairly certain it must have a trans-temporal corollary."

Be'lanna Torres looked over a PADD, and answered for her Captain.

"The Captain had Tom and me come up with a list of things we could do to help upgrade the Jupiter 2, if you originally had decided not to stay. None of these things violate the Prime Directive any worse than we already have, just by bringing you aboard. The only question is--what happens to Smith?"

Don raised his hand, grimacing a bit.

"Put him in a cryo-tube, but he comes with us. I'll be damned before I'll dump Smith off on anyone, particularly people I like. But keep the tube out of sight of peeping aliens. He's made his last deal."

Judy seconded this, for reasons of her own.

"The baby will need a play area, and eventually her own room. Doctor Smith's old room should do nicely."

Chakotay nodded as almost all of them walked towards the Bridge doors.

"I think you'll all be surprised by what we have in mind."

Penny remained behind. Will saw this, and stayed as well. He shrugged at her.

"I guess now we'll add babysitting to our list of chores."

A bit depressed at the passing of a dream, she nodded.

"Let's go ask Ensign Wildman if we can practice on little Naomi."

She walked past him, muttering as she went.

"After all, it's not like I'll ever be a mother."

Will now felt it as well. They had agreed to go home. But the thing which their parents said to treat as though it never happened now weighed heavy on their minds once again. That incident--and the mind-snapping loneliness that had caused it--would not be so easy to hold back, as the years passed.

But for now, the reconstruction of the Jupiter 2 awaited their input.

Surreptitiously, Captain Janeway distributed a number via PADD to her crew in the shuttlebay.

*04/04/2063*

Simply put, they would be allowed to rebuild the Jupiter 2 with any technology prior to Zephram Cochrane's beyond-revolutionary invention of the warp drive. All tech up to that point had merely been derivative of tech not much different than that available at the end of the Twentieth Century, in both worlds.

Tuvok pointed at the Jupiter 2's front windows.

"Sensors indicate long-term stress, Captain. This glass was well tempered. Yet years of various assaults and planetfalls have begun a series of micro-fracture cascades. Full replacement is recommended."

Janeway looked them over, as well, then said something surprising.

"Transparent aluminum. Every last piece of glass."

Chakotay walked over. He glanced at the Robinsons and Major West, kept behind a sound-proofed viewport, so as to at least diminish any further temporal exposure. While likely somewhat moot, the court-martial Janeway imagined answering to would have to at least concede that she had kept something back from their visitors.

"Captain, transparent aluminum was invented in 1986, in our world. The Jupiter 2 launched in 1997, in theirs. If transparent aluminum had been available there, I think they would have used it."

Janeway shook her head.

"Mister Paris?"

Tom answered.

"Commander, the invention of transparent aluminum was speeded up by temporal interference, on the part of seven rather famous Starfleet officers. The ones from that show we watched? Captain Scott was an inventive sort--and they kinda needed those whales."

Janeway picked up.

"Also, science and technology broadcasts we picked up indicated a circa 2005 breakthrough for that tech. That's the way we have to think, people. Our friends want to go back, and we want to make that possible."

With both her stated thinking and her implicit thinking now clear, the Voyager crew began to look over the sturdy but more primitive ship in earnest. Torres studied a hammered-down sheet of metal one meter away from the entrance ramp.

"Tom--what would you say to replacing this metal with olduvaium? Discovered in 2050, in the Olduvai Pit in Africa, it later revolutionized space-capable doming material forever. We replicate it for temporary colonization material even to this day. It was a Maquis standby, when avoiding--well, us."

Paris raised a finger.

"Problem. Olduvaium is plenty tough, but if it somehow gets dented, it requires a molecular re-shifter. That's 2140."

Be'lanna looked a bit sheepish, but recovered quickly.

"Ok. That was pointless. How about Menelikite? Ethiopia's first big Twenty-First Century export, three times tougher than this titanium alloy, and requires no more than a decent hammer and an elbow."

Tom nodded.

"That's good. But Menelikite is a bear to get fitted. We'd be another week tearing out the old structure."

Torres was ready to pound him with a hammer, till an equally strong bit of genius struck her. She grinned.

"No. It won't require that at all."

Chakotay and Tuvok were on the lower deck of the Jupiter 2. The former Maquis leader recalled first meeting the spy who would have, under ideal circumstances, turned him in.

"You didn't come empty-handed. You preyed upon our desperation for supplies."

"I see where you are leading, Commander. But do we have that kind of leeway, within the Captain's parameters?"

Chakotay saw the door, with its distinct radiation hazard markings.

"The concept was developed during their native time period. Its application, though, really pushes us up to the limit. 2058."

Tuvok nodded.

"The Jupiter 2 did not launch in 2058."

While they debated perhaps the most radical change to the Jupiter 2, Harry Kim merely wandered the upper deck's living area and said a few telling words.

"Everyone needs privacy and living space."

Jotting down some notes, Kim hoped that this would help Penny to forgive his asking her to leave that night, a few weeks back.

The Voyager crew came back with their initial recommendations. John looked at the plans. Outwardly and in its minor systems, the Jupiter 2 would not change all that much. But in the things that made it run and go, the fundamentals were about to shift.

"Kathryn, these engine specifications. Is this size-scale correct?"

Janeway knew that this would catch his eye.

"Absolutely, John. Any reason for asking?"

Having called his wife over, John looked at her, got a nod, and then looked back at the Captain.

"Because Maureen had made a suggestion about any extra room we might get from your generosity. Penny? Will? The engine room is going the way of the wind. How would you two feel about having full quarters, down in there? You've shown us that you can keep up with your tasks, and we'll need the room upstairs, for obvious reasons."

The thought of any extra space had the two smiling quickly. Yet Chakotay, Janeway, Paris and Torres all knew why this might not be a good idea. More, they knew that John and Maureen were quite aware of this, as well. This was someone else's family. Her style of command and personality aside, Janeway felt that line was sacrosanct. But with the health, well-being and future happiness of two good kids at stake, Kathryn felt that she now had no choice but to confront Maureen Robinson in private.

Torres spoke on their timetable.

"Captain, Commander, Doctors. I now feel that we can have these repairs and upgrades done within one hour."

Tuvok raised an eyebrow.

"That, Lieutenant, would be a most remarkable achievement. Yet I cannot see how it might be done."

Be'lanna pointed at the Jupiter 2 in the distance.

"Their ship is not constructed with the same technology or with the same super-dense materials as ours. I believe that, using the Jupiter 2 itself as a source of recyclable matter, we can format the replicators to recreate the ship, according to our specs."

Janeway pointed at Kim, Paris and Torres.

"If that's possible, I want it to happen. You three are our best on transporter-based technology. In the meantime, I'd like to speak to you, Maureen. I just wanted to settle a certain matter between us."

Doctor Robinson nodded her head.

"I thought that you might, Kathryn."

As the two female leaders left for a talk that would come to haunt them both, Maureen's extended family made some last-minute additions to the plans for Jupiter 2. Will pointed to the transparent aluminum windows.

"Make them one-way view. No more aliens waving hello to us, then disappearing. After Doctor Smith, we don't need any more headgames."

Don pointed to a largely-unused service crawlspace, once used to hide by a certain reluctant stowaway.

"No joke. Can we stash Smith's cryo-tube in there?"

Judy looked at the overall hull.

"Be'lanna, I know you can't give us energy shields. But how about an electrical charge that's just enough to pulverize micro-meteors and shunt dust away?"

Penny's idea dealt with one of their most commonly encountered scenarios.

"A small scrub-sink in each room would help us save water, and allow for long days when the shower unit is out."

In one form or another, each idea was found to be doable, and integrated into the upgrade plans. Not so easily done with was the battle of wills between Kathryn and Maureen.

Once in Janeway's office, the Captain made her opinion plain.

"People have accused me of going too far in pursuit of my goals and agenda. Usually, I feel they're off base. But here and now, Maureen, I am crossing the line, and exceeding my authority, common courtesy, and good sense. Because the decisions you and John are making are going to have disastrous consequences for Will and Penny. If the Doctor's program hadn't been compromised, I wouldn't know about their kiss. But I do, and so I must act upon that information. Don't put them on the same floor, mostly alone. It's a bad idea that could easily get worse."

Maureen did not seem as upset as one might expect of a mother whose judgment had been severely questioned by a relative stranger.

"Are you saying that they're untrustworthy, Kathryn?"

Janeway waved her hand.

"No! They're good kids. But they've already turned to one another in a nearly carnal manner. And their teenaged bouts with loneliness are nothing compared to what they'll face as adults. What happens to those two when the words brother and sister come to mean less than the words man and woman?"

Maureen looked down, and said some disturbing words.

"What usually happens between an interested man and woman. It's all but inevitable, I suppose. But I'll never treat it as such. I'll never surrender in my heart and spirit to such an ugly occurrence. I am their mother."

Kathryn nodded.

"And a mother acts at all times to keep her children on the right path."

Maureen closed her eyes.

"She also acts to make sure they are not miserable. The day will come that I'll notice Penny's putting on weight, for no apparent reason. But they love each other, dearly. I rather doubt it will all be abusive. John can't handle that reality. I must. I don't have the luxury of putting the success of the mission apart from my desire to see my children happy. Both must occur, whatever it takes. That is who I am, and that is what I have chosen to do."

Kathryn tried one last time.

"I want to hear you say it."

Maureen didn't hesitate.

"I am sacrificing the health, happiness, well-being and comfort of my two youngest children for the sake of the future of my planet. In order to get us to our Alpha Centauri, I will let them become decried as freaks and lepers, all for answering the same call that every other human being feels. Not merely sex--but the right to not be alone. And if I had to, I would even give up being with my husband, to demonstrate my resolve. Thank God I'll never have to--but the mission trumps everything but my babies' lives. So long as they are alive, though, I can't let their eventual means of survival stand in the way of giving my people the stars."

Only having explained herself out of courtesy to begin with, Maureen rose to go. But she looked at Kathryn without anger.

"Except for the discretion you and Chakotay must demonstrate, Kathryn, you are living my childhood dream. Don't think I don't envy you. And continue that discretion. I think you're right. Your crew might see things the wrong way. Well, I'd better offer up my two cents on the upgrade. Will I see you later?"

Kathryn nodded, yet certain of Maureen's words echoed within her.

"Count on it."

Five minutes later, the Captain made a momentous call to her lover and First Officer.

In Sickbay, the Doctor finished customizing a late 21st-Century cryo-tube for Zachary Smith. As he did this, Robot reviewed his findings on the automaton's probable origins.

"I was a storytelling holo-matrix, then?"

The EMH transported the silver-suited body of a sad but dangerous man directly into cryo-stasis, then nodded.

"That's my best guess. You were interactive, and meant to keep the toddling Penny and infant Will company, on the trip from what Mister Kim believes was the Alpha Centauri native to your universe. In effect, your ship was meant to take those two back home."

The Robot's lights seemed to dim, then light up, then dim again.

"Then caring for those two is what I was meant to do, after all. Doctor, can my holo-matrix be altered to again project illusions?"

The EMH quite happily turned away from Smith, for just about the last time. The deliberately-induced psyche-altering tumor made a hologram once threatened with personality 'customization' queasy, to say the least.

"Even using 20th-Century tech, holograms were possible. It shouldn't be any trouble awakening it in a basic matrix advanced as yours. Why? Looking to fool some future enemies?"

"No, Doctor. But perhaps I would like to be a storyteller once more. For a new generation of Robinson children."

The EMH did what was asked of him, and then loaded a test program into Robot.

"Now, this one is part of a satiric series favored by both Mister Paris in our world and Major West in yours. It seems this lone human and these two robots are subjected to endless selections of bad professional movies and so-called fan fiction dramatizations. Part of a cruel mind experiment."

"I am aware of this series, Doctor. But beware the sharp tongue of the golden one. He only thinks he's funny."

The Doctor stared as the projection played.

"What's with the giant turtle?"

Chakotay met his Captain on the one-time conspiracy center that was Holodeck Four. Janeway was laying one more ghost to rest.

"I felt that I had to be cruel. To offset an even greater cruelty, done to two lives. The instant I was done with that harshest possible choice, other options came to me. We could have had you cloned, before the separation. Gotten your engrams a holo-matrix, like that used by the Moriarty simulation on Enterprise. I even thought about contacting the Vidian Doctor our EMH became friends with. My choice would have still caused the end of your life as you knew it, though. I offer no excuses, and no defense. For what I did, I merely ask for your forgiveness. *She did what she had to* seems as weak an explanation right now as *they were only following orders*. I hope that somehow, in whatever manner you still exist, you find it in you to forgive me."

But the Tuvix hologram was not interactive, so Captain Janeway ordered it off, and turned to Chakotay. In her eyes, so lovely to him, he somehow saw her sad message.

"Again, Kathryn? What excuse is it this time? Loyalty to a man who surely thinks you're dead? My loyalty? Or maybe you now believe that we were both exposed to xenite gas, down on New Earth."

She looked down.

"You're aware of the Robinsons decision, vis-a-vis Will and Penny's indiscretion?"

Chakotay sighed, thinking upon another subject he'd just as soon avoid.

"Yes. John and I had a talk, to make certain there were no lingering hard feelings. He and Maureen have an oddly flexible philosophy on such matters. But while I was happy to hear that, I could not ever agree with anything that says 'it never happened'. Two incidents at Wounded Knee spring to mind."

Janeway got to her point.

"I can't openly be with my First Officer. And I cannot keep pretending that something that obviously is happening isn't. Both in her absolute devotion to her mission, and in the misstep I'm almost certain will consume her children's relationship, Maureen has shown me what I must do--and what I can't allow myself to do, any longer."

When she said no more, Chakotay then said the very last words in this stage of their relationship.

"I have ancestors from all over the Earth. One was Powhatan. After his daughter's intervention saved Captain Smith, Powhatan asked about the late Queen Elizabeth, for whom the English named their colony. He asked if Elizabeth had one husband or many, being so very powerful a woman. Smith told him that she had been married only to her kingdom and its destiny."

Chakotay moved to walk away as he completed his words.

"Powhatan said that if this was true, then she must have been a very lonely woman."

In more ways than there were to count, the two parted company at that moment.

---------

As the final transporter/replicator settings were made, the Robinsons unloaded the Jupiter 2 of any materials they didn't want recycled. Judy and Don however, placed a load of a different kind upon the minds of Maureen and John. When Maureen simply couldn't speak, John almost roared his response.

"What do you mean you're not getting married? You are still having a baby together, aren't you?"

Don did not want another confrontation with his CO, so Judy took his hand, and held another over her stomach.

"Dad, we'll marry when we reach Alpha Centauri. But we're not ready now."

Maureen found her voice.

"You were ready enough to become parents!"

Careful to keep his temper in check, Don nodded at Maureen, who did not have John's tendency to mix his dual roles.

"You two are a pair. You're the best parents I've ever known. But parenthood and marriage and success aren't bound together. I want to marry your daughter. But if she's my wife, and she or I die while we're out in space, we certainly can't keep the body for too long. I couldn't live knowing my wife's body was floating in the void, or was on a planet that we might never see again."

Judy shrugged.

"Our daughter will know she's loved, and that she has something to look forward to. The structure will all be there. Despite what happened with us and Tom and Be'lanna, we won't be looking around--even if we could. But you two have shown me that those two words are sacred. If there's any trepidation in our hearts, then I want to give those fears time to go away. They will. And when they do, we will be the first newlyweds on the first Earth colony in human history."

Maureen looked at her husband. Two barely-workable family choices in one week would surely test their patience. Yet unlike Penny and Will, this in no way could be taken as their choice to make. Added to that, a repeat of their wrongheaded demand about the baby's life might easily have the younger couple asking Janeway for asylum again. Since Kathryn had made clear that she didn't approve of the official denial choice in the one case, she might well be more open in this second request. The younger Doctor Robinson and Major West were vital to their renewed mission.

Maureen bristled inside, but John found a way to bring home the ramifications of what their daughter and friend were telling them.

"All right. It is your life. But you'll have to clear all this with your brother and sister."

The look on Judy's face told that she was clearly not expecting this answer.

"The kids? Why? What does my choice in my life have to do with them?"

Don shrugged in frustration.

"John, you're not making any sense!"

Maureen's eyes indicated she knew where her husband was taking this, so he let her take over.

"Oh, he's making perfect sense, Don. That is, if you really think about it. We've already made Penny and Will aware that they will have to add all KP to their duties. Also, they'll have to divide basic systems maintenance between them, as well. John and I will have to take over astrogation, probability calculations, not to mention handling most watches on monitor."

Judy shook her head.

"You just reassigned almost everything we do on the ship! How could the kids agree to those terms?"

In a gesture made as deliberately gentle as he could muster, John placed his opened palm on his baby's stomach, where her own baby lay, growing.

"Because those two--young adults--seem to understand better than you two just what it is we're getting into. They'll have recreation. I'm suspending their set schedules on homework, owing to how long our journey is apt to be. I asked Tom Paris to set up a small R+D station on the lower deck, so they can putter around. Will says he has some ideas about micro-robots to do the terraforming, once we reach our destination. I expect that Penny will keep him from overstating the possibilities on his theory, plus she spoke of developing some force shields more varied than the ones we've used. You two are about to have your days and night consumed whole. That child--or children, down the road--will demand and they will get more of your time than you actually have to give."

Maureen finished the confused younger couple off with a few simple words.

"Welcome to our world."

Neither Don nor Judy changed their minds about either the baby or their marriage plans. They were, however, a lot quieter than they had ever been before.

When the hour finally arrived, all of Voyager's senior staff watched as Be'lanna, Harry and Tom deftly handled the modified controls. Their own shuttles would not be able to benefit from this change, at least not directly. Their materials and engines were simply too complicated. But Jupiter 2, despite the legally questionable enhancements it had been given, was still not as advanced as even the original Phoenix.

"Torres here. I have the frame."

"Kim here. I have the decks and the engine."

"Paris here. I have the systems and the living quarters. Ladies and gents--we have a ship."

The Robinsons ran out to see their restored home. Don West couldn't resist quoting yet another piece of pop culture.

"Atomic batteries to power--turbines to speed."

Tuvok shook his head at hearing this.

"That, Major West, is wholly inaccurate."

Already inside, Penny and her brother stared in awe at their new quarters downstairs. The flimsy sliding doors had been replaced with ones that had handles and locks.

"Which one do you want?"

Will shrugged.

"I dunno. They've been carved exactly the same. Hey--is that our own wash area in between them?"

Penny checked it. She smiled.

"With a nice, sturdy lock!"

Will knocked on the inside of one of the doors.

"Harry wasn't kidding about those molecular sound bafflers. That alone is going to help. We both--ya know, snore."

Penny knew well that he wasn't referring to snoring, but something far more private.

"People snore, Will. It may be one of the only ways we have of getting through these years. And it will be years."

Rather than talk of it any further, Will moved for the elevator back to the upper deck.

"At least we like the company we have."

Alone and planning out her quarters' arrangement, Penny chuckled to herself.

"Just when did he grow up?"

She quickly pushed one probable answer out of her mind.

While a still-stunned Don and Judy marveled at their quarters which had once been four different rooms on the upper deck, Maureen and John thanked Janeway and Chakotay for an unbelievable gift.

"By 2058, fusion engines became this small?"

Chakotay pointed at the device, now located on the upper decks.

"Well, we did allow for the Twenty-First-Century folks having an unlimited budget. But it's legitimate, otherwise."

Kathryn took the hands of both Robinsons.

"Maureen told me that I was living your dream. Well, you are living mine. To be among the first. To redefine the word, pioneer. Just consider these tweaks and upgrades payment for that reminder of where we came from."

While the EMH and Robot secured Smith in his hiding place, Don and Judy ran up to Tom and Be'lanna. Judy pointed back at the room.

"Tom, there's something wrong. We have one of those R+D stations in our quarters."

Torres smiled.

"New parents need distractions, too."

While the personal belongings were beamed back aboard and placed in their rooms, Robot asked his new friend one last question.

"How often should we release Doctor Smith, Doctor?"

The EMH did a quick scan.

"I'd say once every six months. Why?"

The Robot pulled out his nightstick again.

"Oh--no reason."

A series of small personal gifts were exchanged. In an odd way, the sexual swapping done by the various couples had released and not roiled up tensions. Tom Paris was given Robot's older, clunkier battery pack. Judy was given a carefully and precisely replicated hubcap from the holo-car she'd tinkered with. Don received a library of digitized TV themes and 'oldies'. Penny received a diary module equivalent to 2060, capable of massive journal recording.  
Be'lanna joked when Judy gave her files on something called 'Playgirl'. She said that the men depicted would *give most male Klingons endowment neurosis.*

Chakotay got a most interesting gift from John. A Native American warrior who was a fiction in Chakotay's universe was quite real in John's. A late 19th Century tintype depicted this man standing with his white half-brother, a Texas lawman thought dead more than once. Keeping with this theme, Chakotay presented John with a pipe offered to a heroic Spanish nobleman by a tribe he had saved from corrupt clergy. Will requested and was given a model of the venerable Phoenix itself. He seemed almost upset as he took it, but a glare from his parents had him thanking Captain Janeway, and everyone else. Still, he seemed oddly sad.

Neelix and Tuvok, having interacted less with the Robinsons because of their ordeal, hung back and were quiet. The Talaxian broke the silence, as expected, but for once his words were deadly serious.

"Mister Vulcan, I know it's not your way. But Tuvix has been on my mind. A lot. Could we maybe discuss him? At a time convenient for you, of course."

Tuvok surprised himself with his next words.

"We will talk of Tuvix, Mister Neelix. It seems only fitting that his existence should not pass without comment."

Securing the model he seemed glad to be rid of aboard Jupiter 2, Will turned and was almost shocked to see Kes. She looked apologetic.

"Please remember me? As I am right now, I mean."

They hugged, and Will momentarily forgot whatever secret burden he had. He looked up at her, smiling.

"I do have a photographic memory, you know."

She handed him an envelope.

"Remember me. As I am right now."

Will checked the envelope's contents. It was nothing obscene, despite a certain lack of wardrobe. But Kes imagined that, as she aged and died--if she was lucky--her image would continue to ease the burden of a young man in a tight social corner. She considered that a small victory, and thanks for dealing with her impatience. Will hid them very, very well.

But if the photos' exact content meant little to an Occampan not prone to private modesty, the photo of a very clothed woman given to Kathryn Janeway by Maureen Robinson meant absolutely everything to the Captain of Voyager.

"To Maureen--a trainer and a mentor and a dear friend, truly a teacher's teacher, Love---"

Janeway practically gasped the name.

"Christa McAuliffe."

She looked at her friend.

"Maureen, I cannot accept this. This is an irreplaceable treasure."

Maureen seemed to have the same sad look as her son.

"Just please accept it, Kathryn. You'll come to understand why I gave it up. But not now."

Harry Kim's goodbye to Penny was not quite as tender, and Kim noticed this quickly.

"Penny--I'm the ship's fool, all right? Is saying that enough to maybe have you forgive me?"

Penny looked almost tearful.

"Right now, I think that you're a better person than any of us, Harry. I have to go. Good luck."

Surely it was having to leave the relatively easier life of Voyager that had her down, thought Harry. What else could it be?

With the last goodbyes said and the Jupiter 2 loaded, Janeway and her crew made for The Bridge. The more primitive ship was out of the shuttlebay in moments.

"The rift, Mister Tuvok?"

"Opening further, Captain."

"Stability, Harry?"

"Long as we keep our modified tractor beam on, it remains open, Captain."

"Tom, their vector of approach?"

"Don knows his ship, Ma'am. No doubt."

"Mister Chakotay, their position in the other universe?"

"Captain, the 40 Eridinai star is visible. No Vulcan, though. Estimate they have fifteen years before they reach Alpha Centauri."

Be'lanna Torres, a slightly angry look on her face, entered the Bridge at that moment.

"Captain, we have to pull them back. Immediately!"

Janeway stood up.

"We can't. Our tractor beam is holding the rift open, and they're already through."

Torres watched the screen, and saw the rift's natural collapse begin. It was over. She looked at Janeway.

"Captain--we've been robbed. And not by Smith, Seska, or anyone we'd expect."

* * *

NEAR THE 40 ERIDINAI STAR, EARTH DATE 2002, OTHER UNIVERSE

Will handed the model of the Phoenix to his father.

"I love and respect you, sir. But if you ever ask me to do something like that, ever again, I'll say no right to your face. Excuse me, now. I have to do some chores. This place doesn't feel clean."

Penny looked at the model with disgust, and almost with contempt.

"This is against everything you've ever taught us. I went along because I thought maybe you were under someone else's control. Now, I wish you had been."

Going to join her brother in whatever chores there were, Penny took time to glare at her parents and older sister. Judy sat down.

"So when do we start analyzing it?"

Maureen bit her lip before speaking.

"Planetside only. Far away from the Jupiter 2. Very far away. You, young lady, don't touch it until after you've delivered."

Don was already in his and Judy's quarters, having learned of the model's true nature after launch, and declaring the whole thing worthy of Smith. John shook his head.

"Who are we now, Maureen? Kathryn and her crew gave us every hospitality. But I had to do this, right? I had to secure the future of our journey, and of our home planet. Didn't I?"

Maureen put her arms around him.

"Who are we, John? We are good people who just made a highly immoral choice for some very good reasons. We'll just have to live with yet another set of unintended consequences, that's all."

The model was secured again, as the Jupiter 2 resumed its historic journey, under the watchful eye of a friendly mechanoid who loved his family well, warts and all. Robot briefly viewed Smith's cryo-chamber.

"No. I still don't miss him."

He put the stasis chamber back in its hiding place, and hoped for the best to befall the Space Family Robinson.

* * *

MAIN UNIVERSE, VOYAGER

"They took what?"

Torres showed the records.

"While I shut down the computers' lockout protocols to find any other surprises left by Seska, they set up that 'request' Will made for The Phoenix. Captain, it was a working model! They stole the secret of warp drive from us."

The crew's reaction was swift, and predictable.

"Most unlike them."

"Not them."

"Those nice people?"

"I thought they were our friends."

Janeway raised an open palm.

"They are our friends. And we cannot resent them for what they did. Because mark my words, our days of turning away opportunities to get home just ended with that theft. If we have to become thieves ourselves to see home again, then that is what we will do. They did what I would do."

"Kathryn, surely we're not going to suddenly abandon..."

Janeway began the new chapter in her relationship with her First Officer with a few chilling words.

"Discussion ended, Mister Chakotay. Let's just call it all one more bitter lesson our friends taught us."

Kim broke this grim line of thought.

"Captain--I'm detecting a dozen more rifts in this region of space. All highly unstable. More readings--debris fields. From destroyed Borg Cubes?"

Kes felt a distinct chill at Janeway's next words, which would prove the turning point in Voyager's long journey home.

"What's opening those rifts? And what could so effectively decimate a Borg Cube?"

As a new adventure signaled a new era, the feelings of camaraderie towards and partial betrayal by the Robinsons were put aside.

But the two crews would meet again.


	12. Epilogue And Yet We've Just Begun

**Epilogue - And Yet We've Just Begun...**

KES

It had been three years since Kes discorporated. It had been one year since she had forced the wailing energies that had been the Second Caretaker to take her now-aged form, beginning a time-loop that was painful for any being to contemplate.

But now the Caretaker had been released by Kes's dead body, having been confused and then turned around by Janeway's pleas. Kes would have to find some way--any way--to contain this being's hate. Time said that her final fate would be the so-called Funnel. But time was damned odd in how it went about things, and Kes knew this.

*Well, I can't let you wreck any more havoc in my reality.*

By focusing on the universe around her the way Tuvok had once shown her to focus on the flame of a candle, Kes saw a reality full of beings well capable of keeping high-level energy wielders in check. Grabbing the mass of hate, Kes entered that reality, and was surprised to see its own version of Earth.

*It must be near a locus of possibilities.*

A primitive space shuttle in the far distance told Kes that this was likely the planet's 20th Century, by some countings.

*There's a woman aboard it. She's dying.*

Radiation was killing her. She was sacrificing her own life to save her friends--as Kes had done. But this woman would die the true death.

Kes was impressed, both by the woman's love for her friends, and by the friends themselves. They were shockingly similar to the people on Voyager. The dying woman's love for one of them, though, was unlike what Kes had felt for either Tom or Neelix. It was for him, more than any other that this woman gave all.

Kes made an offer to the woman.

*I can help you. I can save them. But I'll have to do it my way. Will you accept this--for him?*

"Lady, to save him, I'd deal with the devil himself!"

*Let's hope I don't come to that.*

Kes then placed the woman in a healing cocoon. As she guided the shuttle back, she formed a new body for the woman to inhabit. But then, as the shuttle set down in the Hudson River outside New York City, Kes did something she would regret.

This woman's love for and love from this man was something she wanted badly. So badly, she was willing to almost kill for it. She kept the woman in the cocoon, to heal, but did not transpose her spirit into the duplicate. Instead, she inhabited it herself. The glory of this woman's passion made her ecstatic; the guilt over stealing her life, even for a time, caused her to go into denial. Kes told herself she hadn't really stolen anything; she was the woman, merely transformed. Radically transformed. Ultimately transformed.

The woman's friends, now her friends, waited on the surface, fearing the worst. Her life was now subsumed by this woman, and her love for this man. Eventually, Kes would go back to her home universe, and the evil of the vengeful Caretaker would find its final fate. For now, though, both were merged and yet would still struggle. Rising from the water, the new being wanted to tell her friends that she was fine. But this was too much of a lie, so she shaded the truth which she hid even from herself.

As she rose, the man who loved her-or thought he did-looked up in shock. They all did. She said a few, simple words to these extraordinary people, before collapsing from exhaustion. For good or ill, she was quite reborn.

"Forgive me, X-Men. For I am no longer the woman you knew. Now, and Forever, I AM PHOENIX!"

* * *

NEELIX

A new world. A new life. A wife, and a stepson who held his heart as surely as Naomi had. Naomi, who hadn't needed him anymore, she said. But the note attached to the ancient vid she had sent perhaps belied this. Neelix and his boy watched and laughed as the tricksters were all defeated by the cartoonish green dragon on-screen. He also re-read the note.

*Neelix--please watch the part where Pete says goodbye to Elliot. It will say what I couldn't bring myself to.*

On-screen, that moment came.

*Elliot, I know you have to go. That somewhere, there's another child who needs you, just like I did. But I will always love and miss you. No matter how long I live. You took care of me, and I will remember you.*

Neelix was a full five minutes before he stopped crying. His stepson held him till he was all right, but then he had a question.

"That man who wanted to sell Elliot the Dragon? Are there really people like him in the universe?"

Smiling, Neelix avoided for the moment recounting some of his stepdad's antics.

"Oh, there sure are. In fact, I encountered one of the worst, while on Voyager. He was a lazy, conniving, and cowardly man named Doctor Zachary Smith. See, these people wanted to explore their universe, but Doctor Smith was somehow always in the way."

The little one laughed as he heard a tale of space pirates, walking carrots, duplicating machines, and monkey-like creatures, all containing an improbable man who just couldn't learn what not to touch.

Soon, all the children of the Talaxian colony wanted to hear this amazing story, though some did wonder why Smith was never pushed out an airlock.

* * *

SEVEN OF NINE

Sighing, Tom looked down at Arachnia's deadly robot.

"You know, Seven that the 'Captain Proton' program works best when you DON'T push the robot over--again?"

Seven shook her head.

"I have dropped my objections to its primitive nature. I now understand the basis of the concept called 'suspension of disbelief'. Yet I must continue to draw the line at this tin travesty. It does not look remotely like it could even conceivably present a danger to us."

Tom was about to argue the point, when a notion hit him.

"Then we'll just get another Robot."

Within seconds, the old clunker from the 1930's movie serial vanished, to be replaced by a sentinel of gleaming chrome and glass.

"Greetings, Tom Paris. It has been some time since you accessed my program. Who is your companion? Her circuitry is arranged in a pleasing and logical manner."

Seven turned, and looked at Paris.

"I approve of this one."

* * *

A MIXED MESSAGE

The young man from the Alpha Quadrant made his apologies.

"I had my doubts when Reg asked me to do this, Captain Janeway. I did at least think my time-stepping abilities could bring some of you home. But due to all the temporal anomalies you've encountered, no one here is chronologically stable enough to be moved by my methods."

The legendary earnestness of this young man had now been tempered by some harsh realities, both before and after his return to Starfleet. But he was a visitor from home, and so, awkward or invincible, he was welcomed with open arms.

"You did your best, Mister Crusher. That's all anyone can ask."

"Yes, Ma'am. Before I leave--here's a message I promised to deliver. It's for yourself, Commander Chakotay, and Lieutenants Paris and Torres. I can't say anything more about it, I'm afraid. I have to go before Voyager's time-field keeps me here, as well."

Crusher smiled as he put two fingers to his forehead.

"Wouldn't want to wish that fate on you, after all."

The self-deprecation on the young traveler's part was mildly amusing. But as he vanished, Janeway's chuckle turned to a gasp as she looked over the message. Chakotay saw this.

"Kathryn, who's it from?"

Torres looked at her copy, and spoke when Janeway couldn't.

"It's from the Robinsons."

* * *

THE DAY AFTER THE RETURN

TUVOK

"My wife. I am greatly pleased to see you."

"Husband, are you distressed? That greeting was highly emotional."

"That, my wife is a long-term result, I fear, of our being--lost in space."

* * *

BE'LANNA TORRES AND TOM PARIS

Tom's niece held the newborn Miral gingerly, and seemed to be smiling all the way from head to toe.

"Aunt Be'lanna! The baby's almost as pretty as you are!"

For Torres, so fearful of both her own appearance and that of her baby, these words from Tom's flesh and blood were welcome indeed.

"Thanks, Nicki."

"Hey! Where's my Mommy and Uncle Tom?"

In the distance, Be'lanna saw tears streaming down Sadie Paris Martin's eyes. A gentle hug and the mouthed words *Of course I forgive you* told an older sibling that the betrayal and hurt was all done with. Sadie had gotten the help she needed, and a brother and sister were reborn. She prayed silently for another set of siblings, whom she was to someday meet again, as by arrangement.

"They're just happy to see each other, Nicki. It's been a long time since they could ya know, just talk."

A very long time that was now done with.

* * *

THE EMH

He grabbed his shoulder.

"Surrender it? Whatever for?"

Reg Barclay shrugged.

"Doctor, its 29th Century tech. We can't allow it to fall into the wrong hands. But you will have free run otherwise, and I'll see to it that not only are you never reprogrammed, but that together, we restore the other EMH Mark Ones."

After an hour, the Doctor gave up the portable holographic emitter. But while Reg kept his word in every way, the emitter did not exactly go to the right hands.

The CIC's aide bristled at the presence of the 'dead' Luther Sloan. But he was still a necessary evil.

"What have you learned? Why did this 'Braxton' and his time authority allow the EMH to keep the emitter?"

The man from 31 popped open the emitter.

"To make sure we got this message, Admiral."

Braxton's image appeared, and began to speak.

"Gentlebeings, whether you be of good or bad intent is now irrelevant. I am risking a great deal to make you aware of an effort, based in my own time, to significantly alter critical events in the later part of the 22nd Century. Create a temporal-zone shield and then every day, ask a library computer both inside and outside the shield the following question: When did Terrans first make contact with the Klingon Empire?"

Independent of Voyager, another series of events had been set in motion.

* * *

HARRY KIM

Captain Terrence gave Ensign Kim the news.

"There is no space available for a lieutenant aboard the Apex. We simply have no position available--for a Lieutenant. Nor, I'm afraid, for an ensign, either."

Harry asked the obvious question.

"Then why am I here, sir?"

Terrence smiled.

"Because there is a space open for a Lieutenant Commander--as my ship's First Officer. You survived the real void, Mister Kim. I want that kind of experience aboard my ship. That is, if you're willing."

The first thing Lt. Cmdr. Kim did after accepting the position was send a highly affectionate but slightly sarcastic note to his former Captain. Tom and Be'lanna had already been promoted, and had their hands full on several levels. But he would pay back every single promotion joke, in his own time.

As he had vowed, Harry only read Penny Robinson's short note to him now that he was home.

*Harry--I've found a form of peace. Thank you for trying.*

Sighing, he placed it aside, wondering not for the first time just how Crusher had met the other-dimensional family. Assigned as he was to the Enterprise-E, it would be a while before Harry could ask him.

"Yeah. It'll be the grand gathering of the Starfleet geeks."

He sat back, wondering if the eternal junior member of Voyager's senior staff could make it as an Executive Officer, really the ship's grownup.

"God, give me a sign that this good fortune isn't going to evaporate."

There was a knock on the door. Harry answered it, to find Seven Hansen standing there.

"Starfleet has offered me the post of Science Officer on the Apex. Chakotay and I had a falling-out over this matter. Since we are again to serve together, a consummation of our mutual attraction seemed in order."

Harry Kim's life was now in a happy turnaround--until he informed his waiting parents.

"Whatever-inherently deadly Federation enemy--makes you happy, son."

* * *

CAPTAIN JANEWAY & COMMANDER CHAKOTAY

The hearing was nearly done. Her accomplishments had been ticked off rather quickly. Her mistakes, as expected, took significantly longer to address. But this one last thing required the most direct examination.

"We, Admiral, made the grave mistake of thinking the Robinsons to be primitives. Coherent and determined and good people, but yet like cavemen to us. We looked at their technology, and allowed ourselves to believe their intelligence was similarly behind ours. This was both a mistake in protecting our secrets, and an insult to people we considered our friends. As Captain, responsibility for this potential trans-temporal disaster begins and ends with me."

Vice-Admiral Garrett Kirk, adopted child of Professor Kirk and Admiral Saavik, and daughter by blood of Captain Rachel Garrett, nodded. She had been put in charge of Operations after the Breen Incursion and the subsequent losses of Admirals Nechayev and Jellico. She intended to make her mark.

"Thank you, Kathryn. Commander Chakotay, before I arrive at my choice, may I ask your opinion of what happened to Cardassia, while you were away?"

Chakotay wondered at this question only briefly before answering.

"Admiral, the problem was, both Maquis and Starfleet turned out to be right. Cardassians wanted a better life. But they grew scared of what it took to do this, and so turned to the Dominion. They've paid for their sins. But they still possess a cultural hunger for power. Until that changes, an eye must be kept on the main Cardassian worlds."

Admiral Kirk now gave her decision on their fate.

"Captain, I must, as a result of certain policies you knowingly violated, albeit with cause, deny your promotion to Commodore. I choose instead to bring back the largely unused rank of Fleet Captain. Since my envisioned structure calls for fewer Admirals all around, this may be a way of keeping the 'five-pip conspiracies' from being quite so prevalent. I ask that you, with your intimate knowledge of complex and intractable situations, take command of Space Station Deep Space Nine."

Janeway recalled one of her briefings.

"I thought Captain Sisko's Bajoran First Officer was running things, there."

"With Bajor finally joining the Federation, Colonel Kira has chosen not to join Starfleet. She is currently seeking the highest political office possible."

Chakotay nodded.

"Leader of the Vedek Council?"

"No. President Of The Cardassian Union. Legate Ghemor's family is sponsoring her. It seems she's running neck-and-neck with a former Obsidian Order operative named Garak."

Admiral Kirk looked at Chakotay.

"Commander, you will be promoted to Captain and lead the Defiant group in keeping the peace in that sector. We're finally rid of the Jem'Hadar 'rogue' pockets. But now we need someone who can put his personal feelings aside for the greater good, but who can also keep his powder dry, in case the enemies of peace get ideas--which they always do. You have shown that you are that man. A number of Maquis are up for parole. Give me a list, and I'll see what we can do. Congratulations, you two--and again, welcome home."

As they left, Janeway smiled.

"So--it's back to DS9? Think we can handle it?"

Chakotay nodded, feeling renewed despite Seven's choice.

"As long as we avoid the Badlands. My God, Kathryn--it'll be my job to patrol Cardassian space."

Janeway nodded.

"And keeping your Fleet Captain happy."

He looked stunned, but she just shrugged.

"We're back home, and if Seven is going to be that stupid, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice. After all--I'm not Queen Elizabeth. Not for a while now."

Unsure, he kissed her anyway, and decided to let things go where they might.

"I can testify to that."

* * *

THE UNIVERSE OF THE SPACE FAMILY ROBINSON

2004, RELATIVE TIME

A SMALL DISASTER

He had only been released for two hours.

Given a chance to walk about, the angry, dying man had done what he always did best. Sabotage.

Zachary Smith had used the very real post-cryo headache to his advantage, and listened intently as John and Maureen Robinson discussed the nigh-unthinkable.

"You were right, honey. Penny is feeling the tension worse than Will. Maybe it's time we spoke to Don."

"We'd have to make it clear that his -services- would only be for an extreme situation like this."

In short order, the plan's obvious flaws had it well off the table. But Smith had all he needed. When the again-pregnant Judy passed by with the toddling Charlotte West in her arms, the viper moved to strike.

"You have more patience than I, my dear. Not to mention more tolerance."

Thinking herself ready for any of Smith's games, Judy shrugged as she walked away.

"I love children, Doctor Smith. My patience and tolerance can hardly be tested by my own children."

Smith had her.

"I did not mean towards the dear little ones, my child. I referred instead to your tolerance of your sister sharing your intended's carnal company. Unless I was mistaken, she was most delighted to hear your parents' proposal. But then, she's always had eyes for the Major. Truly, there is no accounting for taste."

At first, Judy Robinson sought out her mother, merely to have someone gag the furloughed prisoner. But things went wrong from there, as Smith had surely planned.

"Mother! What are you saying?"

"Judy--while we did discuss this solution, we decided that..."

In a red rage, Judy sought out a sister who kept almost exclusively to her work--and to the company of their younger brother, who made sure he always had something to do. Life was in a rough balance, and that balance was about to be undone.

"Judy?"

The look on Judy's face had not been seen since her first major detox cycle.

"You pathetic, ugly little, would-be home wrecker! You can't get a man to even come within a parsec of you, so you dare to target mine? Well, forget it! If our situation weren't what it is, you wouldn't even have poor Will to whine and moan to. Stay away from Don, Penny. Presuming he would even have you, of course."

Judy was speaking from multiple levels of claustrophobia and exhaustion. Ironically, the upgrade on Voyager meant less need to stop for fuel, air and water. Less planetfalls meant that even the well-designed spaces of the Jupiter 2 had become tight and confining. Perhaps Penny even knew this. But it did not stop her from running off, crying to her room. Judy yelled after her.

"Hold up! This isn't over."

Will stood between Judy and the object of her anger. He glared.

"It's over. It's over, or I swear, it'll take Dad and Don and Mom to get me away from your throat. Don't you ever speak to her that way again. Don't speak to me, period."

He was seventeen, and his skinny frame had filled out. Even if it had not, the anger in his eyes told Judy he was capable of making good on his threat, and she withdrew.

In an hour, an explanation was offered that only made the accusatory Judy feel worse, for jumping the gun. Maureen and John oversaw an apology session that was wholly insincere between the siblings. Don administered his own brand of sedative to the well-satisfied Doctor Smith, who then rubbed his bloody lip.

"Strike me as hard and as often as you like, Major West. But consider this: It only took a few well-timed words from a source your woman trusts not at all to have this family on the verge of civil war. I don't have to kill a single one of you. You'll do it for me. Oh, and do tell me. Have William and Penelope begun to shower together, as yet?"

Another blow had Smith back in dreamland, and Don snarled as he shoved him back in the tube.

"Don't you talk about them that way. They're good kids."

West took an extra Bridge watch that evening, in order to calm down. But Smith's words kept repeating in his brain, and would not be so easily put out.

* * *

2006 - THAT FATEFUL DAY

Their number was now six. That worthless little man, blown up by one of his endless schemes. That noble, shining mechanoid, taken protecting the family he loved from Smith's last folly. All of it had happened during a bizarre interlude, and coincided with the meeting of other unexpected friends.

The Phoenix-model warp drive, like any wage of sin, had not worked as they had hoped. But because of it, they now had an artifact of great power and versatility. Perhaps, mused John, His punishing hand moved simultaneously with that of his merciful one.

"Don, is the portal to Earth opened?"

"Yes, John. Big enough for a broadcast--but not for us."

"Maureen?"

"The artifact is stable, John. But for now, this broadcast-link is all we can hope for."

"It'll be good enough. Judy, are we sure that's our Earth?"

Hoping desperately that Charlotte could keep her two younger daughters out of the way at this critical moment, Judy checked the files they downloaded from Voyager against her current readings.

"Vibrational frequency match is near 100 percent, Dad. That's home."

"Excellent, honey. Will, position the transmitter. Take whatever time you need to make it a precise shot."

Silence reigned mostly now, aboard the ship that was more tense than ever. Parent rarely spoke directly to adult child. The younger siblings rarely spoke at all to the two older pairs. Everything was favoritism, or bespoke dictatorship, or smacked of mutiny.

"Transmitter positioned, sir."

"Penny, keep the beam focused on whatever coherent reception source we find first. If we lose it, refocus quickly."

"I know my job, sir."

John was about to address her tone of voice when he remembered the last argument they'd all had, over nothing, long, and wholly counter-productive.

"Hopefully, young lady, we all know our jobs."

Don would keep the ship steady, come what may. Judy would watch the artificial portal for stability, and to ensure they were talking to their native Earth, and not an alternate one. Will would operate the transmission hardware, and Penny would keep the beam going where it should. Maureen would be the voice of the ship, when they made contact. John prayed that the others still had enough respect for him to keep civil while this epoch-making event took place.

Penny made the announcement.

"Sir-I've locked us on to something in New York City. Its code-signal identifies it as The South Tower Memorial Transmitter."

Don looked up.

"In memorial to what? Did something happen near the Towers?"

Very near to a supremely tragic fifth anniversary, the Robinsons and West would soon have their answer. But for now, contact had to be made.

"Will, reposition the transmitter 3 degrees to the west."

"Gotcha, sis."

Penny frowned.

"Judy, is the portal stable? I'm just asking."

Perhaps the disclaimer was not needed, for Judy responded without any hint of anger.

"It's good, Penny. Oh, wait. Are you trying for Houston Control?"

Penny then remembered.

"Which probably isn't there anymore. Will, Washington will be more difficult to reach. We can't do the equivalent of a geosynchronous orbit. But it's a lot more likely to have someone at home."

Don raised a finger.

"Will, if you can bounce the signal against the hull of the ship, it can hit a more obscure target. It's like aiming a remote control at a blank wall."

Will smiled.

"Don--everyone--we're being received. That last shift did it."

The tensions would not evaporate. But John felt that this day at least proved they could be turned back, if only for a time.

*Unknown User--You Are On A Pentagon Restricted Frequency. Please Identify Yourself.*

They would be required to provide massive amounts of proof that they were who they said they were. But Maureen spoke some words that would prove the turning point in their long, long journey. They had thought they had contacted Earth before, but this was the first time they knew with absolute certainty.

"Be advised--we are the staff and crew of the Earth ship Jupiter 2, launched in 1997. We are still determined to be the first Humans to colonize the fourth planet orbiting the star, Alpha Centauri. We are still, despite loss and strain-The Space Family Robinson."

One year later, a full sixty years before the first touchdown in Kathryn Janeway's universe, the Jupiter 2 saw the marriage of four-time parents Don and Judy, on the world to be known as Alpha Centauri Four. It also declared via broadcast the immortal words: First Primary Mission Accomplished.

------------------

2008 - THE DISAPPOINTMENT

Upon receiving the news of the Jupiter 2's recovery, the people of the Earth demanded a return to space. But the vox populi is often hard to translate into reality, as the First Family Of Space learned that day.

Using the artifact that had enabled both their transmission home and sped through their journey to Alpha Centauri, John had opened the local portal just outside their new home's solar system. Allowing for the time to depart Earth's own solar system, this was the day that two new Jupiter-class ships, held in abeyance after the Robinsons' presumed loss, were to arrive, new colonists in tow. Two siblings stood in anticipation. The end of a long drought was near. Penny elbowed Will.

"You'll be the native guide. Show no mercy."

Will nodded.

"Time we did some things worth getting punished for."

The ships landed, but after ten minutes, when no one disembarked, John and Don drew their blasters, and made a careful check. An hour later, Don emerged from the first ship.

"Everyone--you better come in here."

With Don, Jr., holding on to his Uncle Will's hand, and each of the other children carefully accounted for, they boarded the Jupiter-class ship--and heard its recorded message.

*There was simply no time to train new astronauts. Many of our older ones still feel betrayed, or fear being stranded if the program is cancelled again. You will have your companion pioneers. We simply don't know when. We are sorry. Your courage and steadfastness deserve a like response, and we cannot yet give that.*

John looked around at the crestfallen faces.

"These ships contain the kind of material we'll need to make this world habitable. We knew there would be some heavy lifting involved. There are three ships, and three major continents to terraform. Owing to the responsibilities of raising the children, Don and Judy will take the smallest. Maureen and I will prepare this next largest one and the future landing point. Will, Penny---"

Will cut him off.

"I welcome the work, sir. I feel I speak for Penny in this, as well."

Penny found that she could not speak at all. John pointed at the original ship.

"I don't want whoever might eventually show up seeing the alterations Kathryn's bunch made on the Jupiter 2, first thing. Also, you'll need its more advanced capabilities to farm that rocky land."

Needing the space, the once-close family almost joyfully went their separate ways.

* * *

2010 - The Night Of The Storm

JOHN & MAUREEN

They had completed a good amount of work, though no one had accomplished the miracle that Will and Penny had. Turning, or perhaps sublimating, the restless energies of a hard decade, they had completed their continent's work in record time.

But John and Maureen were not happy to hear this, any more than they were to hear the storm that raged outside. Their equipment, protected by crude but workable forcefields, would be protected. Both prayed for God to protect their younger children. They held each other, the physical and emotional problems their marriage had suffered a memory that time alone together had erased.

"John, why did we send them out there? Alone?"

Maureen heard only silence for ten minutes, before he gave an answer.

"There is sin. And there is watching your children die inside, when fate conspires to deny them one of the things that makes life bearable. Like when we stole the warp drive, Darling, we made a choice."

"And what happens when we see the results of that choice?"

He shook his head.

"We'll yell at them, decry them, condemn them--then we'll remember that they are still the children we took into our hearts. I can't imagine them actually harming each other."

Maureen closed her eyes.

"Should we tell them they're adopted?"

"No. Because while we accept this turn--I cannot in good conscience do a single thing to encourage it. I am still their father. Only their happiness allows me to stomach a solution that our beliefs scream out is an evil one."

Maureen held her man, who felt not so steady at all. For the first time in her life, she tried to force images of her two youngest children well out of her mind.

* * *

JUDY AND DON WEST

She stared out the port at the storm, and then closed her eyes.

"Honey, what're you doing?"

She felt Don touch her shoulder from behind. Judy took his hand.

"I'm imagining them together. It'll make it easier, when we all 'find out'."

West was getting sick of this unspoken discussion, and made that plain.

"Y'know, the scandals aside, there are priests who spend their entire lives never being with anyone. If they can get through, then so can two kids I love like my own brother and sister."

She hugged him, but made her opinion plain.

"They're not priests, Don. They're two lonely kids who, if they haven't figured out how not to be lonely already, are going to. Could you or I have done without the other, these past years? It's not just physical stuff, either. Could we have borne being alone?"

He fell silent as he held her. Judy stared over at Charlotte's room, and prayed to God that other humans would make it to their newborn colony before she failed her own baby as she felt she had failed the ones God sent her to protect.

* * *

WILL AND PENNY

"What do you want?"

He looked at her, hunched against the wall, holding her pillow.

"I heard you cry out."

She had been crying.

"I cry out a lot. That never brings you running."

He gulped.

"The storm is pretty loud. I just wanted to see if you were okay."

She shook her head.

"I'm not okay. I'm lonely, and I'm scared as hell. The noise is cutting through my last nerve."

Will looked at her.

"I should go back downstairs."

Penny looked at him.

"Why are you scared of me?"

Will closed his eyes.

"Because for the past month, I've been setting up the seventh maintenance tier of micro-robots to back up our terraforming robots. Thing is, even for a storm like this, we only need four tiers. But if I don't find something to do--I'll think of you."

Penny wiped her eyes.

"I've seeded every corner of this continent with conifer trees, wildflowers and grass. And even when I'm doing all that-you are all that I can think of."

The noise of the storm did not diminish, but nor could they hear it any longer. Somewhere in the midst of the great storm's fury, the worst fears of two crews came to pass. What occurred and what followed broke the dread pattern in that it was not abusive. But nothing would be the same between them, ever again.

-------------

2025, RELATIVE DATE

ALPHA CENTAURI FOUR

Two captains and two admirals, none of them native to the universe they beamed into, looked about at what the Robinsons had accomplished. It had taken two centuries for their Alpha Centauri to look quite this good. There were perhaps tens of thousands of humans, and almost as many of another species, bald with wide heads and Trill-like markings on their scalps. Some hybrids were even in evidence. Janeway was flatly astonished at this. Miral Paris, aged fourteen, tugged on her father's hand to see a people wilder-looking than any of Be'lanna's family. A few of the humans stared over at the Starfleet contingent, perhaps a residual memory surfacing of that old venerable series, finally to be retired after its seventh sequel.

The Paris family made for a house on top of a small hill. The first family of space had never asked for special favors, but they had obviously called dibs on the prime locations.  
Admirals Janeway and Chakotay headed for a fateful meeting with John and Maureen.

"Are we supposed to say anything about what they are? I mean, I never met anyone in this kind of situation. I just know I'm gonna step in it, and then you'll both be upset."

Be'lanna squeezed her daughter's shoulder.

"Miral, we have no idea how we're going to act. Just be polite, play it by ear--and don't ever be deliberately harsh. These are our friends."

Tom looked at the still-unanswered door, feeling haunted by what could have been for him, once upon a time.

"I couldn't believe it when they told us. You'd think they would have found any other way. That--they would have been given other options."

Captain Torres lightly punched her man's arm.

"I took the only real option available to me. Earth took too long in getting to this place, Tom. To ask them to give up what they had found would have been the even greater sin."

Paris looked down.

"Miral, you're wrong. I'm gonna be the one to step in it. I used to pray so hard that those two would find other--"

The door opened. A young man who could have been the twin of Will Robinson as they had known him on Voyager smiled. His jet-black hair was combed to the side. An infant girl in a walk-about played behind him, red-haired and freckled.

"Hi. I'm Peter Robinson. The drool-queen is my little sister Viki--short for Saavik. You must be the Parises. My folks have told me all about you."

Miral then did as she had feared and promised.

"What's it like having them as parents?"

Peter Wesley Robinson appeared to take it in stride.

"Well, I've developed a thick hide for dumb jokes, if that's what you mean. When that doesn't work, I know martial arts. Heh. Try this one: My family tree has no branches!"

Miral and Peter laughed. Tom and Be'lanna looked utterly creeped out. They moved on to the living room while the children exchanged wilder and grosser quips. The baby was scooped up by Miral, and placed into her crib, the jokes never stopping or getting any better.

"Tom?"

"I see, honey. I see."

Tom had perhaps thought that, upon seeing, he might go hysterically blind, or even hyperventilate. But in reality, it was merely a happily married couple kissing. It still threw him, though.

"Be'lanna!"

"Tom!"

Running up from the couch, Mr. and Mrs. William and Penelope Robinson hugged their beloved guests. In all the multiverse, only the dear friends they'd named their children after could be more welcome. Penny saw how tense the Voyager alumni were, and tried a bit of her own gallows' humor.

"Well, I didn't have to change any of my stationery or checks..."

Torres angrily interrupted.

"Stop it! Just-just stop it! How could you two do this? How could you allow as sacred a thing as your sibling relationship to fall so completely away?"

Paris thought about restraining his wife, or apologizing for her words. But that isn't what he did.

"Guys--I think I'd like to know that, too."

Will sighed.

"There are people who ask us whether what we think what we did was right. We have to say no. They ask us if finding out about our being adopted made it any easier. We have to say that it only helps in that our kids won't have any blood or brain diseases. We were still raised together. For all intents and purposes, all we knew of each other was that we were family. They ask, sometimes more seriously than others, if what we did should be allowed for as a hazard of space travel. We have to say no. We tell them to send out ten families at a time, if they have to, but don't put any two kids in the position we found ourselves in. Finally, they ask whether having this attitude while not living it makes us hypocrites. Again, we have no choice in the answer, which in this case is yes. But if our ordeal tells them all to be ready for anything out here, then it's well worth it."

Penny picked up, while also taking his hand.

"No other Terrans, Human or Tencton, showed up here until six years ago. By that time, our relationship was no longer a sin, a mistake, an act of desperation, or a sign of insanity bred by isolation. It was a fact. A friend of ours--the one we named our son for, showed us that we truly were in love. Even if we had stopped being together, we were now a couple. Not good? Probably. But we aren't an alternative, or a stopgap, or even a nightmare. We just are. My name is Penny Robinson, and this is my husband Will. If you want to know how we met, we'll tell you. Just be prepared to go 'Ooh-Ick' --a lot."

Torres looked down.

"I didn't mean to judge you."

Will took Be'lanna's free hand. He smiled.

"We want you to judge us, Be'lanna. Don't you two get it? We don't ever want to have anyone consider us to be a normal couple. Today, we are a fact, like Penny said. But we started out as an incipient disaster. This relationship could have turned abusive or pathetic at the drop of a hat. We were in such pain and guilt. That took a long time to fade. But we don't ever dare look at how we started as a good place to be. We weren't a healthy couple, then. We were two good, God-fearing kids who thought certain we were going to Hell while breaking our parents' hearts. But by that time, ten tons of hormones, loneliness and despair had made us just not give a damn anymore. We were so afraid that Peter wouldn't comprehend the wrongness of how we came to be, we waited until the other colonist families finally arrived, and he had one or two girlfriends, before even thinking of having another child."

Penny nodded.

"I still have nightmares of him getting married, pulling back his bride's veil, and it's one of Don and Judy's daughters. And I'm actually relieved before I wake up, because at least she's only a cousin!"

Tom tried to smile. It was of course, very difficult.

"I think you two did a hell of a job. You made the best of a very bad circumstance. You helped build a world. But I still wish you could have stayed with us. Found--other options."

Will nodded.

"Not a day goes by that we don't what-if ourselves to death. On occasion, we even still fight like we used to, as kids. Again, not a healthy place to be. If we didn't love each other--we wouldn't even have what we do."

Be'lanna looked around.

"Speaking of kids? Where are Miral and Peter?"

The two odd couples would speak of many things. Borg. Q. Malon. Hunters. Holo-insurgents. Multiverse travel. Parabilities. But for then and there, they stewed in the fact that four seasoned space travelers had just left two teenagers alone. As Tom and Penny laughed, Will and Be'lanna got up to find what they feared.

"Miral--if it snaps, snap it back on! If it raises, lower it, if it lowers, RAISE IT!"

"Peter--listen to me, young man! Whatever you're touching on her, I will chop off the equivalent part on you!"

Outside, the two wondered what the hubbub was about. They shrugged, and kept right on. Miral held up a potato chip.

"Oh, yeah? Well, we Klingons have ridges, too!"

Peter raised a finger.

"My---heh--grandpa just grounded my folks for not doing their chores!"

Many a bad pun passed through the cosmic ether, on that long night.

While their spouses searched for an assignation that was not occurring, Penny looked at Tom.

"It isn't like with your Sadie, Tom. And you don't bear any responsibility for this. Like humans for millennia, we found a way to survive. It wasn't the best or most proper way, but we did. Nowadays, trying to conceive of life without him makes even damnation not seem so much."

An older, wiser Captain Paris spoke from a part of himself that he rarely ever did.

"What with all the spousal abuse, murders, marriages-in-name-only, and real family disasters--I think he'll understand."

Penny grinned.

"*He'll* Understand? And you're from the 24th Century?"

Soon after, living lives that their much younger selves could never have imagined, two families sat down to dinner.

* * *

Admirals Janeway and Chakotay arrived at the other Robinson household, a split-level that looked something like two Jupiter-class ships placed atop one another. Maureen and John were waiting. No one looked any older than expected, and so nothing was said of it.

"Are you going to punch me out, Admiral Janeway? Or are you going to just arrest us for theft?"

Janeway looked, and saw another mother who had done what she had to for her mission, and for her family. She hugged Maureen.

"Why don't we just skip both and sit down for dinner?"

The two men chatted as they went inside.

"John, who are all the non-Terrans I've been seeing?"

John closed his eyes, opened them, and spoke. It was, as they say, a long story.

"Chakotay--never call those folks non-Terrans, or Newcomers. See, shortly after we left, Earth had an influx of immigrants. That was part of why the space program was cancelled. Racial tensions made people turn inward. But when the call went out, the Tenctons were fully half of our colonists. They've formed the backbone of what we've built here. Of course, their religious leaders had a fit over Will and Penny. But our Chief Constable, a former LAPD Vet, talked them down. Now, they evangelize against ever sending out less than four families at a time."

Chakotay laughed. He noted, without comment, that John said nothing about Human religious leaders' reaction to his children's life together.

"You even had first contact sixty years before us."

Dinner was served, and then--it was brought out. The working model of the Phoenix. Maureen pointed.

"Take that thing away. It was a sin to take it, and it's brought nothing but heartache."

John seconded.

"Our own scientists have nearly broken the warp barrier, independently. It helped when we told them we knew it to be possible. But we never showed them this."

Janeway looked at Chakotay, then back at their hosts, puzzled.

"You mean you never used it?"

John sat down, and rubbed his eyes.

"Once. And it nearly ended our journey forever."

The Doctors Robinson began a sorry tale. It involved more good people, who became their friends--and more tragedy.

* * *

MINNESOTA, 1902 - JUPITER 2 RELATIVE DATE 2005

Don West moved the last of the loose trees into place.

"That's it, John. Except for the solar panels, the entire ship is hidden. But it'll be months before we can recharge enough to try for a higher elevation."

John did not take it as a good sign that Don had stopped saying *I told you so*. He didn't need to. The experimental warp drive had drained the ship, and left them a century back, albeit on Earth. The abandoned property had bad land for farming, although Will felt he had an idea for that. But as Judy attempted to clean up the inside of the house, and Penny locked down the equipment they'd need, Maureen came running up.

"John--we have a problem! I went to release Doctor Smith from cryo--and he was already gone."

A viper had escaped into the prairie paradise they saw around them.

In the town's mercantile, Doctor Smith bartered a pair of boots for his supplies.

"Thank You, My dear lady. I hope in the future to avoid such lowbrow exchanges."

The mercantile's owner had never seen such a pair of boots before. They almost seemed to repel dirt and water.

"Well, Doctor, you speak so very well, I'm forced to accept your word that you fell in with the wrong crowd, for a time. Lord knows this town has enough of the wrong element."

"Again, thanks, my lady. You are the epitome of your shining reputation."

When Smith had asked, she had been called a snob, busy-body and a power-hungry witch. In other words, she would be as pliable as dear Seska had been.

Back at the site of Jupiter 2's descent and landing, a man now rode up, in the company of the young woman who'd spotted them earlier. He had longish, shoulder-length hair, salt and pepper from the gray. He wore clothes one might expect of a gentleman farmer, and a broad brim hat.

"My daughter tells me you folks are trying to make a go of this land. Now, it's legally abandoned, so you can try it. But even for folks who know farming, it's plenty rough. Not the place for--pardon my saying so--city folks who just want to get away from it all."

Maureen almost spoke, but didn't know what sort of man they were dealing with, and so let John speak for them.

"Well, sir, we are grateful to know that. But we do plan to move on, in less than a year. For here and now, we're kind of stuck. By the way, I'm John Robinson, and this is my wife Maureen."

The man accepted John's handshake.

"Pleased to meet you, Mister Robinson. Now, that's my daughter Laura, the local schoolmarm, and she's married to Manley Wilder. Myself, well, I'm just Caroline Ingalls' husband Charles, to hear her tell it."

Hiding inside the camouflaged Jupiter 2, Penny heard, gasped, and dropped her favorite set of books--written by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

"Not again..."

Yes, again. But that is a story for another day.

**An Alternate Epilogue To Along The Way**

Done in snippet form, these pieces show slices of life if the Robinsons had decided to stay aboard Voyager. It will be shown in a series of known Voyager episodes, in script form.

* * *

REVULSION

(John and Maureen stand in front of Will)

John: Son, Seven Of Nine is still new to our culture. You should have used your common sense.

Maureen: We understand it's been difficult for you, but we had certain--ideas--about when all this should move forward. Just because she made a sudden offer didn't mean you had to take it. Now, Don and Judy want to speak to you, and you listen closely to what they have to say.

John: Because except for duty--consider yourself grounded until that smile fades.

(They exit; The Wests enter; Judy is nearing her delivery time)

Judy: (Points) One word, little brother.

Don: (As both adults smile) Details!!

* * *

OMEGA DIRECTIVE

(Briefing Room)

Janeway: ...so that is why we must find the project that is nearing completion of the Omega Particle, and put a quick stop to it.

(Penny shakes her head)

Penny: Captain, just because your scientists couldn't handle this particle doesn't mean that these people can't. I think this policy of Starfleet's is very presumptuous, and maybe even racist.

Janeway (lightly glaring) Ensign Robinson, one thing I hope you'll learn very, very quickly aboard this ship. When I have my orders--you most definitely have yours.

* * *

ONE

(Seven looks around suddenly)

Seven: Did you hear something?

(Robot, her only companion, shakes his upper torso)

Robot: My sensors detect--no intruder is present, Seven Of Nine.

Seven: Thank you, B-9. I--must be experiencing a radiation-based malfunction.

(Smith appears and blasts Robot to pieces)

Smith: Aren't we all, my dear?

(Seven looks around again; Robot is fine)

Robot: Seven--I must advise that you now regenerate.

Seven: No--(Nervously)--I am not unwell.

* * *

NOTHING HUMAN

(The creature attached to Be'lanna is still resisting efforts to detach it)

EMH: What you're proposing is murder!

Smith: (Awakened for his lately-discovered area of expertise; xenobiology) Mur-der, my dear Doctor? A lesser creature is lethally attached to an higher one. If I then flick off a leech, I am committing murder? I think not. Now--let me proceed.

* * *

THIRTY DAYS

(Janeway stands by the Brig)

Janeway: For knowingly violating my direct orders as well as the Prime Directive, I have no choice but to reduce you in rank and deprive you of your freedom for one month. Anything to say?

Don: (Bites his lip) Suppose they put themselves over the edge into extinction, while we're quoting regs?

(Tom watches from a distance; His face shows that he is not unsympathetic to Don)

Janeway: Then we would watch a tragedy unfold, and rejoice that our most sacred law has been upheld. I don't wish to separate a father and daughter, or a husband and wife. But I must draw the line on this, Don. And you're it, I'm afraid.

* * *

THINK TANK

(As Kurros negotiates with Janeway, Penny nudges her father)

Penny: Tell me he *doesn't* look like George Costanza.

(John laughs, in spite of himself; Chakotay notes this)

Chakotay: John, what's up with that laughter?

John: (Chuckling) I'm just chuckling about nothing, Commander.

* * *

PATHFINDER

Admiral Paris: Reg, have you updated the files on those new crew members Kathryn mentioned?

(Reg is watching an ancient ep of LIS)

Barclay: I've-already accessed their images, Admiral.

* * *

AUTHOR, AUTHOR

EMH: So tell me what you think of the novel.

Will: I don't run away at the drop of a hat. I ran away maybe once. Years ago.

Judy: Apparently, a good many of my IQ points were translocated chest-ward, so to speak.

Don: You have me firing phasers and photon torpedoes every time we get a sensor blip.

Penny: I've been with Harry for two years! In your novel, though, the only men I'm not bedding are in this room. Nooo--I take that back. Page 117. Sorry, Judy.

Maureen: This--Jolene Robertson--is a fascinating character, Doctor. Pity about her fetish for holograms that she loudly denies in public. Sounds like she needs help.

John: Jack Robertson intrigues me. Lazy, shiftless, scheming--yet commanding respect and love, nonetheless.

EMH: Soooo you don't want your character amalgamated with that of Doctor Smith? I thought it added spice.

Robot: Why does the android 'Beneficial' have a moustache on his dome?

--------

MUSE

(Will listens to the play he helped write; Groans as its read)

Actor: And so we heartily smote the wicked people of Carrots and Rutabagas;

Chorus: Jupiter, Jupiter, seeking New Olympus!

Actor: But now--Behold! What thievery and mischief is that Old Trickster Smith upon?

Chorus: Beware, Jupiter. Beware The Moaning Trickster!

Actor: But then he of popping mouth walks among us again--and he walks with the Metal man, who is called IDAK.

Chorus: We Must Crush, We Must Kill, We Must Destroy!

Will (in the background): I'd rather help Neelix sample new dishes in the galley.

* * *

ENDGAME

(Voyager is now docked; Barclay runs up)

Reg: Well, Fair Haven was all you said, Tom. But that Zachary Smith character just strained all credibility, even for a limited hologram.

(Inside the holodeck, a recovered but carefully imprisoned Smith)

Smith: (Whining) Isn't anybody ever going to let me out of here?! Anyone?

* * *

**But If You Have To Explain The Story...**

No crossover is a natural, and no crossover is impossible. As a friend of mind pointed out, though, all crossovers are inherently silly. Some work better than others, or can be made to work better. I'm almost convinced I could do a straight, non-satiric crossover on just about anything--but as the saying goes, just because you can do something, doesn't necessarily mean that you should.

But if certain crossovers are more natural than others, then you have to work a little less at making it all jibe. That same friend lives in mortal hate of an xover (not mine) wherein a certain Japanese schoolgirl superhero meets up with a certain cynical girl from an MTV Cartoon. I say, it could be done, as long as the absurdity of the anime' import was treated like any other absurdity seen by Miss Morgendorfer. After all, she sees almost everything as absurd.

One less-than-wholly-absurd crossover idea was, I hope, Voyager meeting Lost In Space. Both have the same essential premise. One is the third successor to the original Star Trek, and one was once its most direct competition. Both have characters that we end up imitating or mocking. Both fell into plot traps that fans decried. Both had initial plots that were almost seemingly forgotten by show's end. The list goes on.

I originally used the Robinsons in a Multi-AU Crossover journey series called 'The Infinite Paths', in which a group of characters that even I have to classify as Mary Sues (although that is merely the simplest definition of them, not the fullest) are chased through the realities by Anthony Fremont, the monstrous 'cornfield' kid from The Twilight Zone. There, we first meet Will and Penny, and learn of their disturbing relationship. All is eventually made right, but not before all the young heroes learn that power, smarts, and spunk don't always cut it.

I did several short sequels, and two mid-sized ones. One was a bit more explicit, and at the end of that, Will attempted to end things on a better note by telling the story of his family's encounter with a ship called Voyager, just as I ended this one with the bare bones of yet another improbable Xover. I won't be doing that one for awhile, yet. My fic schedule is just way too full. To my happy surprise, people wanted to see the Voy/LIS story. I hope you're pleased with the finished product.

Now, normally, the thought of having to defend my fanfic's use of characters to the actors that created them on-screen never even passes through my mind. I write K/U in Star Trek: TOS, despite the occasional public enmity between Nichols and Shatner. They are characters, as distinct from the actors as they are bound to them. Add to that, the possibility of an actor actually reading much fic about their character, pro or fan, seems beyond slim and none. The character is their job, their version of nine to five, and they probably read anything but fic related to it. So again, I almost never think upon it, except to hope that they wouldn't completely hate it.

Yet in the case of my use of LIS's characters, I honestly have had these worries, at least more often than with any other characters. Bill Mumy likely thinks of Angela Cartwright in a very sisterly, or cousin-ly way. Jonathan Harris went to a lot of trouble crafting the lovable bumbler we can all quote by heart. June Lockhart and the late Guy Williams made the first parents of space very, very real--and well liked.

The odds are I would probably never meet most of these people, except for a quick autograph, and again, I shudder to think of how many fans must have tried to show their fic to them. But stranger things have happened, and I have had these concerns often enough that I wanted to craft a response to any possible objections they might have, should they read one of these stories.

Firstly, my LIS stories have part of their basis in an LIS comic book series written by Bill Mumy in the early 90's, under the Innovation label. In them, Smith never became a clown, he merely held himself back till the opportunity arose. The Robot was just a robot, a tool. Don and Judy had started in together, and when the Innovation label went under, she was indeed pregnant. Out of necessity, Will and Penny had stopped their arguing, and were having feelings of loneliness, but never once looked at each other as a solution. The Jupiter 2 was derived from captured alien tech, but the aliens were not at all humanoid, and their people wanted revenge for their dissection. To the best of my recollection, all three Robinson children were John and Maureen's natural offspring.

So how did my story get where it was? One, I didn't want to merely photocopy Bill Mumy's storyline. It obviously inspired me, and that's fine. But I wanted to tell a story that kept as much of what we saw on-screen as possible, from very deadly to very silly. So Smith, who showed signs of redemption in the comic book series, was both agent and clown in this one. Robot was the wise-cracking guardian and best pal. As to Will and Penny?

When I wrote the original story, I tried like hell to avoid wR/pR, fearful that it would come off like an SNL sketch at 12:40AM. My first idea was to dig through an LIS episode guide, and bring back alien characters who had been romantically interested in them at various times. To my shock, I couldn't find any that I could use.

My next thought was to still have them living together, but arguing like when they were little. The trip would have them meeting other people, and wishing each other well as they finally grew up. But then it hit me: If they had continued arguing like they had through a long, confined, difficult journey, well, they probably would have killed one another. Peace would not be a choice for them, any more than would be food, water or air.

My next idea creeped me out worse than the final one did. They would be found, functioning as a married couple in every sense except the physical. Don't ask me why it gave me the shakes--it just did.

Next was having them be together exactly once, and living with the guilt of it. But if isolation, loneliness and hormones overwhelmed them once, then I couldn't see it never happening again. A kiss, like in this story, is one thing. But the *act* is wholly another. So they were found trying to restrict their activities--but as was found out, it was too late. While traveling with 'The Infinite Paths'/Ancient Destroyer version of Saavik, Penny realized she was pregnant by Will. At this point, I freely admit I copped out. The story had become too grim, and too hopeless. So that's when I invented the 'alien adoption' storyline, which led to a lot of what you see here. I liked these characters too much not to give them an out. So here's my words to the cast:

Guy Williams - I saw you as the type who would do whatever he had to. That meant sometimes doing what you didn't want to.

June Lockhart - Mom. The real glue of the family, balancing more concerns than I care to contemplate, and sometimes being tripped up by them.

Jonathan Harris - You, sir, are incapable of making an appearance without making me smile, as well. But the story called for a real villain.

Marta Kristen - If I shoved you into the background, it's only because you, by way of sheer presence, always found your way back in front.

Mark Goddard - Except for a little back story, I kept you as you were. I think that kinda says it all.

Angela Cartwright - I have no designs on you. You made Penny real onscreen, and if this writer had been able to work around it, your character would have been a lot happier. I hope that you are not offended.

Bill Mumy - One of SF's vets, always taking us and your work as seriously as you have never taken yourself. For the work of yours I lifted, I thank you. For hopefully not wondering how fic-dom has declined after reading my stories that feature W/P, I especially thank you.

To the Voyager cast, I know that you've had a lot worse written, so I won't do a like apology. I set this in late Season 3 to separate the show from its later incarnation, at the moment just before everything changed.

Thanks to all my readers, present and future.

Rob Morris 

(Currently, The Infinite Paths is a fair ways away from being revised and reposted, since the Ancient Destroyer stories they spin off from aren't there yet chronologically)


End file.
